Ultromics, one of ASE’s Industry Roundtable (IRT) partners, has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for their AI-powered image analysis system, EchoGo Core. To find out more, read the press release here.

Dr. Federico Asch, MedStar Health, recently represented ASE as the only U.S.-based speaker at a congress in Mexico City commemorating the 110-year discovery of Chagas Disease. Dr. Asch’s involvement as co-chair of ASE’s 2018 guideline document on Chagas disease (translated in Spanish, Portuguese, and Chinese) and his role as the ASE leader of “Project Chagas,” an ASE Foundation (ASEF) global health initiative that focused on pre-identified patients diagnosed with Chagas disease, made him a logical choice for this speaking engagement.

A collaboration between government and academia, the three-day meeting was organized by Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, one of the largest public universities in Latin America, and CENAPRECE, the preventative disease group within Mexico’s national Department of Health. The overarching goal was to increase awareness of Chagas disease among the community and to understand the status of multiple initiatives being conducted at a regional and national level to improve disease detection and treatment through collaborations between institutions and caregivers at different levels. The meeting focused on three sections – the parasite, the vector, and the disease – and was attended by microbiologists, epidemiologists, and physicians, mostly from within Mexico.  Dr. Asch’s presentation was on the findings of the ASEF Project Chagas activity in Mérida, which were previously presented at ASE Scientific Sessions 2019 in Portland.

The Chagas conference gave representatives from ASE and Mexican government and academia the opportunity to come together. Left to right: Dra. Bertha Espinoza Gutierrez, UNAM, CDMX; Dr. Federico Asch, ASE; Dr. Adolfo Chavez Mendoza, Instituto Nacional de Cardiologia and Secretariat of Health; Yurika Manuel Valencia, CENAPRECE.

The goal of ASEF’s Project Chagas was to investigate the prevalence of Chagas cardiomyopathy, detect those individuals previously undiagnosed, and connect them with local cardiologists who would provide proper cardiac care within the regional public system. ASE physician and sonographer volunteers worked alongside representatives from CENAPRECE and the Yucatan Health Service, volunteers from the National Cardiology Association of Mexico (ANCAM), and industry partners from Philips Mexico Commercial S.A. de C.V.  The event was hosted by the project’s institutional partner, Hospital General Agustin O Horan in Mérida.

When asked about his takeaways from the meeting, Dr. Asch stated, “My main take was how the ASEF/ANCAM experience brings a call for reality, understanding how underdiagnosed the cardiac disease of Chagas is, and how it brings an opportunity for action to detect and treat these people. The wide interest from experts around the country and the Public Services was strong and their intent for expanding Project Chagas into other regions of the country is there. We expect to be the catalyst for that action.”

For more information about cardiac imaging of patients with Chagas disease, read the 2018 ASE guideline document, and also this information about “Project Chagas,” the ASEF global health initiative held in August 2018 in Mérida, Yucatán, México.

The ASE 2019 Scientific Sessions just wrapped up in Portland, Oregon, and it was a tremendous success. Chaired by Marielle Scherrer-Crosbie, MD, PhD, FASE, and Sonographer Co-Chair, Lanqi Hua, RDCS, (AE/PE/FE), FASE, nearly 2,600 attendees from 41 countries enjoyed five days of learning that were also packed with exciting networking events. If you attended, click here to learn how to claim your CME. The online library of the sessions will be available for purchase on ASEUniversity.org in July.

ASE 2019 also welcomed investigators from 21 countries around the world who presented their original science during the meeting. Congratulations to the two investigator award competition winners on their excellent achievements.

• 2019 Arthur E. Weyman Young Investigator’s Award Competition Winner, Nobuyuki Kagiyama, MD, PhD, West Virginia University Heart and Vascular Institute Innovation Center
• 2019 Brian Haluska Sonographer Research Award Competition Winner, Natalie Edwards, ACS, AMS, FASE, the Prince Charles Hospital, Queensland, Australia

Thank you to all of the investigators who contributed to this year’s scientific program! We hope to see your cutting-edge science at next year’s Scientific Sessions. Abstract submissions will open on October 9, 2019.

Also, a big thank you to everyone who stopped by the ASE Foundation Booth during ASE 2019! Between June 22nd and June 25th, the foundation received $15,103 in donations.

We hope to see you next year in Denver, CO, June 19-23, 2020. Register by July 20th for an additional $30 off the early registration prices.

Following the excellent reception of ASE’s first reference guideline summary, Cardiac Chamber Quantification: An ASE Summary Document, the ASE Workflow and Lab Management Task Force is continuing this series and has finalized their second contribution. The Evaluation of Left Ventricular Diastolic Function: An ASE Summary Document, is available to view now on ASE’s website, and is linked with the full guideline on the Guidelines Search page. The ASE Workflow and Lab Management Task Force endeavors to summarize guidelines to help improve the implementation in echo labs across the country.

There are still two weeks left before the April 2nd CMS deadline for MIPS 2018 reporting. To fulfill your reporting requirements, join the ImageGuide Registry and utilize the nuclear and echo-specific portals to select measures unique to the field of cardiovascular imaging. ImageGuide facilitates data submission for Quality, Improvement Activities, and Promoting Interoperability Categories of MIPS. The ImageGuide team recommends completing your MIPS submission a week prior to the deadline and can offer a personalized walk through to help you navigate your data submission. For more information on MIPS and reporting requirements, please visit the Quality Payment Program Webpage.

Not yet a participant in the registry? Participation is FREE for all U.S.-based ASE physician members. Schedule a walk through today by contacting info@ImageGuideEcho.org.

Plan to join the fun next Tuesday, March 26, as we celebrate the 2nd Annual ASE Member Appreciation Day. Throughout the day, we will be sharing the top reasons why we love our members on Twitter and Facebook. Follow along on Twitter @ASE360 and on Facebook @ASEcho. You can also follow #HeartofASE and #ASEMemberDay.

We would also like to encourage you to join in the fun and share your reasons why you appreciate your fellow ASE Members. Were they a fantastic mentor, teacher, speaker, or co-worker? Whatever the reason, just print this sign, take your picture, and tag us in your post.

Thank you for being a member of ASE. Our community of members is strong, vital, and impactful. You are changing the world by improving patient care! We look forward to being of service in the year ahead.

Are you attending the American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) Annual Meeting in New Orleans this weekend? Make sure you stop by our Booth #1010 to pick up your FREE, updated ASE Guidelines thumb drive, and learn more about the latest ASE educational products including the recently released teaching slide sets on Comprehensive TTE. You can also register onsite for one of ASE’s valuable live educational courses, including the upcoming Review Course and the Annual Scientific Sessions in Portland, OR. The ACC Exhibit Hall and ASE’s booth will be open Saturday, March 16: 9:30 AM-4:45 PM CT, Sunday, March 17: 9:30 AM-4:45 PM CT, and Monday, March 18: 9:30 AM-2:00 PM CT.

There will be many ASE members speaking at the conference and cardiology-related sessions you will want to attend. Don’t miss the Imaging Highlights Session which will also feature ASE Past President Allan Klein, MD, FASE, and Bo Xu, MD, as they discuss the highlights in echocardiography.

Spring is right around the corner, and the ASE Foundation will be hosting its fourth annual Spring Giving Day to celebrate.

We’ve set a goal to raise $5,000 on Wednesday, March 20th. David Rubenson, MD, FASE, Co-Chair of the Annual Appeal Committee has already pledged $1,000! Spring into action and join Dr. Rubenson by making a pledge this Spring Giving Day! Every gift – big or small – brings us closer to our annual appeal target of $250,000 for the yearly funding drive.

Your gift on Spring Giving Day will foster the future of echocardiography by supporting scholarships and travel grants to young professionals in the field. Each and every gift you give to the ASE Foundation makes a difference in the projects you support and the people you help. 100% of all giving is allocated to charitable projects. Learn more here.

ASE Founder, Harvey Feigenbaum, MD, FASE, will present a live webinar (followed by a Q&A session) Tuesday, March 26 at 1 PM ET entitled Simulation Echocardiography for Quality Control and Education. In addition, registered participants will receive 1.0 ASE CEU credit. Please note: To be eligible to receive the credit, participants must individually register and log in with their customized confirmation. Register here.

The March JASE contains an article by Dustin Hang, MD et al, “Accuracy of Jet Direction on Doppler Echocardiography in Identifying the Etiology of Mitral Regurgitation in Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.” The authors conclude that, “A posteriorly directed jet of MR in obstructive HCM correlates highly with SAM as the underlying pathophysiologic mechanism, but because of the low negative predictive value, clinicians should be cautious in using the jet direction of MR on preoperative transthoracic echocardiography to guide the decision for concomitant MV surgery during septal myectomy for HCM.” Complementing this article is an editorial comment from Ehud Schwammenthal, MD, PhD, Albert A. Hagege, MD, PhD, and Robert A. Levine, MD, “Does the Flow Know? Mitral Regurgitant Jet Direction and Need for Valve Repair in Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy.”

Other JASE articles include a state-of-the-art review of techniques and potential clinical applications of intracardiac flow analysis, and clinical investigations on aortic stenosis, risk management in transesophageal echocardiography, left atrial pressure and function assessments, three-dimensional right ventricular strain in pulmonary arterial hypertension, exercise echocardiography, echocardiography in children, along with several editorial correspondences. The President’s Message by Jonathan R. Lindner, MD, FASE, in the Blue Pages explores, “Turbulence in the Policies and Practice of Point-of-Care Echocardiography.”