How the Meeting is Organized
The numbering scheme encodes the day, time block, room assignment and talk number into the abstract presentation code.
Example:
| TU - C - BRB - 4 | |
| TU: | Day of Week (SU - TH) |
| C: | Time Block as listed below |
| M100J: | Room Assignment BRB (Ballroom B), BRA (Ballroom A), AUD (Auditorium) , M100F, M100J, L100J, L100F, L100E (Note: Thursday - additional rooms: M100A, M100E) |
| 4: | Talk Number (order of presentation within session: 1, 2, 3, etc) |
The organization for each day (Monday - Thursday) is shown in the table below. Times and Rooms vary on Sunday and Thursday.
| BRB | BRA | AUD | M100F | M100J | L100J | L100F | L100E | |
Block A |
A - BRB | A - BRA | A - AUD | A - M100F | A - M100J | A - L100J | A - L100F | A - L100E |
Block B |
B- BRB | B - BRA | B - AUD | B - M100F | B - M100J | B - L100J | B - L100F | B - L100E |
| Break 9:30 am - 10:00 am | ||||||||
Block C |
C- BRB | C - BRA | C - AUD | C - M100F | C - M100J | C - L100J | C - L100F | C - L100E |
| Lunch 12:00 pm- 1:30 pm | ||||||||
Block D |
D - BRB | D - BRA | D - AUD | D - M100F | D - M100J | D - L100J | D - L100F | D - L100E |
| Break 3:20 pm- 4:00 pm | ||||||||
Block E |
E - BRB | E - BRA | E - AUD | E - M100F | E - M100J | E - L100J | E - L100F | E - L100E |
This scheme (above) is used throughout the meeting, except on Sunday. There are two one-hour blocks in the morning used for continuing education courses, Blocks A and B. Blocks C and D correspond primarily to the scientific sessions (for oral presentations). However, there are occasional continuing education courses, symposia or workshops in these time blocks as well. Block E is reserved primarily for the afternoon symposia. However, occasionally continuing education courses, workshops, or scientific sessions may be in these time blocks as well.
New in 2007 - SAMs Symposia - There are a total of 8 SAMs symposia. Two will be held each day, Monday - Thursday, from 7:30 - 9:25.
In general, therapy-related sessions have been assigned to Rooms L100J, BRA, and AUD; joint imaging/therapy related sessions have been assigned to Rooms M100F , M100J; imaging-related sessions have been assigned to Rooms L100J and L100F. All professional sessions have been assigned to Room BRB. All workshops have been assigned to Room L100E.
Moderated Poster Discussion sessions will be held Sunday, July 22 and Tuesday, July 24. The General Poster Session will be held on Sunday, July 22. Poster sessions are laid out spatially, not temporally, like the oral presentations. Poster boards are marked with the abstract identifier.
How the Sessions are Defined
Science Program
Scientific Session - These sessions comprise the bulk of the scientific program, which are where the best-scored proffered abstracts are orally presented. Each session is on one or several specific scientific topics, with several short oral presentations (typically 12 min each). The oral presentations are supplemented by electronic poster presentations (see Electronic Poster Presentation below).
Symposium - A symposium is a topical session focusing on a current topic related to pioneering or state-of-the-art research and development of medical physics. The symposia often include multiple speakers, some of them invited, to speak on the topic. Some symposia will include a panel discussion aiming to define the current state of the field and to distill the thinking of the experts.
Workshop - A workshop is a session aiming to provide practical "how-to" experience or demonstration about a particular topic. Most workshops include lecture materials as well as an opportunity to see how a particular task is accomplished. The topics are often highly applied, e.g., how to test a medical display device.
Moderated Poster Discussion Session - This category is focused on a group of highly-scored scientific posters with a brief verbal overview given by the moderator during the session. This is equivalent to an oral presentation, but allows for more discussion/interaction between the audience and authors. Authors will be present during the scheduled session.
General Poster Discussion Session - This category includes the accepted proffered abstracts that are not associated with oral or moderated poster presentations. The materials are judged to be of high scientific quality and merit presentation at the annual meeting. Authors will be present during the scheduled session in order to interact with meeting attendees.
Electronic Poster Presentation - This category includes supplemental electronic postings associated with the oral and moderated poster discussion presentations. The electronic posters may be viewed in the "Electronic Poster Viewing Areas" located in designated areas in the exhibit hall.
Educational Program
Education Council Symposium - This symposium is designed to update our members on the various activities of the Education Council. Emphasis is placed on the resources and programs that are available to enhance the skills of our members as well as resources that are available through the Association to assist our members when presenting programs to related health professionals and the public.
Continuing Education Courses – The Continuing Education Program consists of courses in the two major areas, Radiation Oncology Physics (24 courses) and Diagnostic Imaging Physics (32 courses). It also includes one Symposium on current issues and opportunities in medical physics education of diagnostic radiology residents. The Radiation Oncology courses include clinical and state of the art IMRT, Brachytherapy, Monte Carlo Methods, quality assurance, treatment planning, joint imaging, radiation shielding, etc. The Diagnostic Imaging courses cover the physics and technology of multiple diagnostic modalities, nuclear imaging, radiation safety and risk management, radiation shielding, and informatics relating to medical imaging. These courses are excellent updates for the practicing medical physicist and provide opportunities for younger physicists to learn from the top experts in the field.
Professional Program
Professional Council Symposia – Symposium, including the Professional Council Sunday Symposium are focused on current topics that involve the professional practice of medical physics. Subjects may range over all aspects of practice such as legal issues, government affairs, research and clinical funding, economics, practice management, peer relations, standards and guidance and ethics.
Professional Session - Proffered presentations are orally presented, are specific to professional topics and represent the top submitted proffered professional abstracts. These are supplemented by electronic poster presentations.
Professional Courses - will be held for specific purposes that require multi-hour programs such as government mandated training and education, time intensive professional issues, or programs that involve attendee participation.
New Member/Meet the Expert Symposia – will provide an introduction to the AAPM, our current officers, council chairs and operations and a forum for informal discussion with noted experts in the field. The sessions are interactive and depend on active question and answer between attendees and the invited Expert.
Note: Presentation Identifiers
* - Where indicated, denotes Presenting Author