Report of the EVDI Conference 2011
Richard Ewers
The annual European Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging Conference 2011 was held in London from 31 August – 3 September. This exciting location attracted 223 delegates from all over Europe and far beyond. The organising committee of Christopher Lamb, Elizabeth Baines, Livia Benigni, Nuria Corzo, Panagiotis Mantis, Giliola Spattini and Antje Wigger did a splendid job of providing interesting venues for the high quality scientific presentations and giving us the opportunity to explore the many sights and sounds of the city.
On the first afternoon, the Annual General Meetings of EAVDI and ECVDI lead up to a welcome reception in the Royal Veterinary College’s historic Camden campus. This gave delegates their first real opportunity to catch up with old acquaintances and begin to make new friends.
The subsequent three days of the Conference were held in the very well appointed Kings Place. This award-winning, modern building hosts arts events as well as providing world-class conference facilities. It is conveniently located close to main-line railway stations, including the Eurostar terminal, which simplified our travel arrangements. There was a good variety of local accommodation nearby to suit all budgets. The lecture hall provided a good venue for the scientific presentations with clear acoustics and a very professional atmosphere.
The scientific committee of Susanne Stieger-Vanegas, Livia Benigni, Susanne Boroffka, Panagiotis Mantis and Charlotte Whatmough produced an excellent, wide-ranging programme of presentations. There were a total of 63 proffered papers with one and a half days devoted to small animal imaging and one day to equine. Forty-six posters were submitted with a display in the foyer outside the lecture hall. The keynote address from Tim Mair, entitled “Equine MRI: opening a new chapter on lameness diagnosis” gave a fascinating review of the history of this field of imaging along with current and future opportunities and challenges.
Refreshments between sessions were provided in the exhibition hall that led enticingly onto a balcony where we were able to enjoy some warm sunshine overlooking the London Canal Museum. The 11 Conference sponsors provided a mixture of modern technology and books to tempt our wallets. Both the internet café, and the imaging quiz were very popular.
As always, we were given opportunities to relax after all our scientific concentration. After the first day, we were treated to a Welcome Reception in one of the many galleries in Kings Place. Plenty of wine lubricated our conversation amidst large-scale photographic prints from conflicts around the globe, which provided a well presented, if occasionally thought-provoking backdrop! With so many different sights to see, the second afternoon was kept free for everyone to arrange sightseeing according to their own tastes.
Without a doubt, the social highlight of the Conference was the dinner cruise on the final evening. We were conveyed on our way to the River Thames in a fleet of vintage London Routemaster buses, an iconic, new experience for some and down memory lane for some of us older delegates! We then embarked on the Silver Sturgeon, a modern river yacht, in which the ambience of the surroundings and the excellent food and drink enabled us to let our hair down and spend the evening in very friendly company. During the dinner, the EVDI Conference awards were announced (best oral presentation, best poster and best resident presentation). Also, Chris Lamb and the ECVDI and EAVDI presidents thanked the organisers and all the delegates for helping to make the meeting such a success.
One of the many great things about EAVDI is the way everyone coming to its events gets a really warm welcome. So, it was particularly fitting that Arlene Coulson presented some foreign language copies of her book on radiographic anatomy of the dog and cat to a few lucky visiting delegates. All this was topped off with magnificent views from the river of a floodlit London as we returned in the dark.
All in all, Chris and his team are to be congratulated on providing a great balance between science, social gatherings, time to relax and excellent value-for-money.
