Dear Colleagues and Friends,

2020 has turned out to be a challenging year filled with unprecedented events due to the COVID-19 outbreak which has affected the health of so many lives and wrecked economic disruptions all over the world.

A lot of effort and work had gone into the planning of the AOCR 2020 Congress in Malaysia which would have taken place from the 23rd to 26th July 2020. I would like to thank my organising committee, speakers, abstract submitters, sponsors that have committed and the congress secretariat for all the effort put in which unfortunately because of the pandemic, it had to be postponed to the new dates 1st to 4th July 2021.

With all the challenges this pandemic has raised, we, the organising committee are re-starting the planning process once again. Old ways to presenting and running congresses have to change. We asked ourselves the question of “How do we deliver the best experience which still allows our participants to have the updates they require to provide the best diagnostic and therapeutic care?”

After intense discussion and brainstorming sessions, our decision is to convert the 19th AOCR Congress into a hybrid congress. This ensures the safety of our participants while allowing virtual participants to first row seats in the comfort of their homes or workplaces.

There will be live sessions where participants will enjoy real-time interactions with world experts. We will also create On-Demand sessions and post-congress recorded sessions and make these lectures available for 1 year. This will support our underlying goal which is to make available easy access to knowledge.

I would like thank all the 969 abstracts from 36 different countries which we have received in 2020 and who would like to continue on for the 19th AOCR Congress in 2021. We have also re-opened our abstract submissions and I encourage everyone to continue to submit abstracts until the closing date which is 31st January 2021. The BEST 500 abstracts will be published in the Korean Journal of Radiology (KJR) Supplementary Issue (ISI Journal, JCR Impact Factor 3.73). We also have the 100 Youth Education Scholarships available and the YES comes with free registration for the 19th AOCR Malaysia Congress in 2021. Your presentations and final work will be featured On-Demand in the congress and made available for 1 year. More details are in the congress website.

We believe the 19th AOCR Congress will be a critical turning point for future congresses in imaging. This challenging time we are facing now gives us opportunities to adapt and rise to the occasion.

Malaysia was ready to welcome all of you in 2020 to our wonderful country and experience our culture and cuisine. Now that we have postponed to early July 2021, I hope that by June 2021, travel will be permitted between some of our countries and we will be able to welcome some of our international colleagues onsite. If that is not possible, we plan to feature some of Malaysia in our hybrid congress and hope it will entice some of our international participants to put Malaysia in your bucket list for when travel begins again.

Until we meet again, I wish everyone good health and stay safe.

Professor Dr Norlisah Mohd Ramli
FAMM, FRCR, MBBS (UM)
Organising Chairman of
19th Asian Oceanian Congress of Radiology (AOCR)
&
President
College of Radiology, Academy of Medicine (CoR) of Malaysia

Dear Friends, I am delighted to welcome you to the 19th AOCR Scientific Meeting that will be held in the vibrant city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the state of the art Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from 1st - 4th July 2021.

With the growing escalation and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world, the 19th AOCR Organising Committee has decided to pivot the congress into a Hybrid format - a combination of physical and virtual meetings. The committee is prioritizing the health and safety of the delegates, speakers, industry partners and everyone involved in the congress in this new norm.

The theme of the congress is “From Pixel to Clarity” and we have amongst us eminent speakers, leaders and representatives from various organizations not only from the Asia Oceanian region but also from around the world.

The First Asian-Oceania Congress was held in Melbourne in 1971 and the Congress has grown over the decades to be a prime scientific meeting in this region.

The Organising Committee has left no stone unturned to ensure that the scientific program is of the highest standard, covering topics from practical applications to cutting edge research and innovations. I am confident that this conference will provide a platform for sharing knowledge, ideas and views on safe and sound practice of radiology in the 21st century and challenge all delegates, in particular the heads of institutions and other leaders in the profession to take home some key messages and implement them at their respective work place.

This is also a great opportunity to network and establish professional contacts and consider setting up international projects and research. In an increasingly globalised world, there is a growing need to pool resources and work collaboratively. I hope you will not only make the most of the conference, but also have some time to explore the city and its culinary experiences. I hope we will all make the most of this congress and attend whether in person or virtually.

I look forward to meeting all of you at this congress.

Assoc Prof Dr Dinesh Varma
FRANZCR
President
Asian Oceanian Society of Radiology (AOSR)