Dear colleagues and friends,
On behalf of the Japan Radiological Society (JRS), it is my pleasure to invite you all to the 81st Annual Meeting of the JRS that is to be held in Yokohama, JAPAN on April 14-17, 2022. The meeting will be a joint conference called Japan Radiology Congress (JRC) 2022 in conjunction with the 78th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Radiological Technology (JSRT), 122nd Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Medical Physics (JSMP), and the International Technical Exhibition of Medical Imaging (ITEM) 2022.
In 2020, the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, a life-threatening crisis, caused extensive economical damage and resulted in worldwide chaos. The outbreak affected many patients, which overwhelmed hospitals and induced healthcare collapse, resulting in a disruption of academic research, education, and medical care in academic institutes, including university hospitals. Although most academic conferences and meetings were postponed or cancelled in the early days, the rapid development of web-meeting and teleconference systems provided an opportunity for virtual conferences. JRC2020 was held virtually with on-demand web-streaming, while JRC2021 will take place as a hybrid conference of both on-site attendance and on-demand web-conference. Considering unsettled conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, JRC2022 still requires a combination of web systems and will be held as a hybrid conference including on-site attendance, on-demand streaming, and live broadcasting. Research presentations, symposia, and image interpretation sessions are expected to be lively discussions on-site. Educational lectures permit virtual attendees to study with sufficient time by on-demand streaming. Expecting the worldwide distribution of vaccines, overseas attendees are welcome to participate on-site and provide discussions and lectures.
The subtitle of this meeting is “Radiology - A key for the paradigm shift.” We anticipate the development of radiology that can contribute universally to medical care by steady learning, understanding, and promoting the field of radiology, which continues to evolve dramatically with the recent progress in artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
It is unpredictable if one year ahead is “after” COVID-19 or “with” COVID-19.” The worldwide distribution of the vaccine is still not guaranteed; however, we will take all possible preventive measures to hold the meeting on-site. Yokohama in spring is a beautiful port town with remaining cherry blossoms. We sincerely look forward to the participation of many people worldwide.
Takamichi Murakami, M.D., Ph.D.
President of the 81st Annual Meeting of the Japan Radiological Society
Chairman and Professor
Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine
