The Abdominal Radiology Group of Australia and New Zealand (ARGANZ) was founded in 2006 as a RANZCR specialist interest group (SIG). The ARGANZ missions are Education and Research, Collaboration and Advocacy. Since 2009, ARGANZ has hosted a weekend of annual scientific meeting in an Australian or New Zealand city, and in recent years has expanded to include on site Friday workshops as well as virtual workshops during the year.
Our 2023 annual scientific meeting in Adelaide attracted more than 400 delegates and presented the first European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (ESGAR) liver imaging workshop in Australia. Over three days, our esteemed international speakers Prof Valerie Vilgrain, Prof Giuseppe Brancatelli and Dr Jonathan Richenberg, and expert local Australian and New Zealand speakers delivered world-class lectures, generating discussion and conversations with potential practice changing tips. 2023 was the first meeting where ARGANZ provided complimentary registration to junior medical officers and radiology registrars, to engage with and promote abdominal radiology to the next generation. It was great to see the return of the School of ARGANZ for registrars, presented by current abdominal imaging examiners to cover new format part 2 examination cases and tips.
To promote research in abdominal imaging, ARGANZ encourages presentation of original research and review papers through oral and poster presentations at our scientific meeting. ARGANZ proudly offers the Mendelson Research Prize to an accredited radiology registrar for winning the best oral presentation in original research in abdominal radiology. This generous prize includes airfare, accommodation and registration to attend an ESGAR meeting in Europe. To further support research for all of our members, the ARGANZ Research and Education Grant can be applied for by all members, with up to $20,000 grant available each year.
Congratulations to the 2023 Mendelson Research Prize winner, Dr Anuja Liyanage from Auckland, for her presentation on her original research titled “Accuracy of MRI in predicting depth of myometrial invasion in endometrial cancer and the influence of the presence of leiomyoma, adenomyosis and MELF”. The runner up prize was awarded to Dr Rishabh Verma from the Gold Coast, on his presentation on “Imaging of immature teratomas – Suggestive features of immaturity”. Congratulations also to the popular scientific poster vote winner, Dr Lucy Soden from Melbourne, for her poster titled “Computed tomography imaging features of peritoneal nodules – a pictorial review”.
ARGANZ continues to build upon its relationship with international abdominal imaging societies such as ESGAR and Society of Abdominal Radiology (SAR), and forges collaborations with Australian and New Zealand clinical specialty groups and societies, such as GESA, AGITG, CCSANZ and UAA. As a result of the collaboration with ESGAR, ARGANZ has been able to offer our members access to ESGAR meeting content for free.
I would like to thank the incredible team of executive members who make ARGANZ possible, Dr Kirsten Gormly, Dr Joe Feltham, A/Prof Tom Sutherland, Dr James Seow, Dr Gabriel Lau, Dr Teng Han Tan, Dr Sarah Skinner, Dr Won Kyung Sung, Dr Arj Somasundaraum and Dr Dean Rabinowitz. Congratulations to A/Prof Tom Sutherland and Dr James Seow, who were awarded life members of ARGANZ in recognition of their significant contributions. The next ARGANZ meeting is in Melbourne, 24-25 February 2024. The international faculty are distinguished speakers Prof Perry Pickhardt (USA), A/Prof Cher Heng Tan (Singapore) and Dr Damian Tolan (UK), who will be supported by a strong local Australian and New Zealand faculty. There will again be workshops on Friday 23 February and School of ARGANZ. Come join us on site, to hear the presentations live from speakers and to take advantage of other on-site benefits such as industry exhibition, live demonstrations and on site only forums. We plan to host more online workshops during 2023, so stay tuned for more information.
There are already more than 800 ARGANZ users, and becoming an ARGANZ user is completely free. There is a wealth of resources on our website www.arganz.org, including reporting templates, scanning protocols and free access to prior years’ meeting content. From time to time, we would like to inform our users of new government policy change such as new or revised Medicare rebate items, publication of new imaging guidelines and upcoming events. So, stay updated by following us on Twitter (@arganz_online) and Facebook (@arganzradiology).
Dr Jessica YangChair of ARGANZ 2023