On Friday, September 12, ASE Foundation (ASEF) is hosting the Value-Based Healthcare: Summit 2014. It’s not too late to join leaders from ASE and others across the healthcare spectrum to help shape the discussion about how cardiac imaging, and specifically echo, will provide superior value in the new world of ACO’s, bundled payments, etc. The event will be held in Washington, D.C. prior to TCT and American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) Legislative Conference. Registration is free to ASE members and will include interactive sessions and opportunities to network. Even just dropping-in for a portion of the Summit will provide a benefit! Get all the details, including a video link showing a preview of the topics, and register for this ASEF event at www.asecho.org/summit2014.

Do you have a teacher whose impact you can still feel?  ASE is looking for an excellent instructor to honor at 26th Annual Scientific Sessions in Boston, MA, on June 13-16, 2015. Please consider nominating your mentor for this prestigious award:

• Richard Popp Excellence in Teaching Award

The deadline for nominations is November 30, 2014.  Please contact awards@asecho.org with any questions. Detailed criteria and a list of former recipients are available on the ASE Awards Page

Recognize your outstanding peers at ASE 2015! The ASE Nominating Committee is now accepting nominations for the 2015 Feigenbaum Lecturer who will present during the 26th Annual Scientific Sessions in Boston, MA, on June 13-16, 2015. The deadline for nominations is October 24, 2014.  Nominated individuals should fit these qualifications in order to receive this prestigious honor:

• Has provided a significant contribution to research in the field of echocardiography, with great potential to continue at a high level of achievement
• Must be a Fellow of ASE (FASE) at time of nomination
• A young investigator (under age 51 or within 10 years of first faculty appointment at time of nomination)
• Has the ability to present a research topic appropriate to headline a plenary symposium at the Society’s annual meeting

Detailed criteria and a list of former recipients and their topics are available on the ASE Awards Page.

Marti L. McCullough, MBA, BS, RDCS, FASE, writes in the August JASE Sonographer’s Communication that “Transesophaegeal echocardiography in angiography and surgical suites is continuing to increase and as a result, sonographers are spending more time in areas that emit a lot of radiation. Additionally, in many facilities, scanning patients recently injected with a radioisotope is part of the daily routine. These activities increase sonographer exposure to radiation.” To meet the concerns of our membership regarding this trend, ASE created a writing group of experts, chaired by Elizabeth F. McIlwain, MHS, RDCS, RCS, FASE. The resulting document appears in this month’s JASE. “Radiation Safety for the Cardiac Sonographer: Recommendations of the Radiation Safety Writing Group for the Council on Cardiovascular Sonography of the American Society of Echocardiography” includes basic radiation principles, sources of radiation for the sonographer, personal protection techniques, regulatory and administrative issues, and policy development/recommendations.

Also in this issue is an updated version of the 2001 guideline on contrast echocardiography. “Guidelines for the Cardiac Sonographer in the Performance of Contrast Echocardiography: A Focused Update from the American Society of Echocardiography,” covers current physics/instrumentation, how to implement contrast administration policy/establishing intravenous access, current contrast ejection and infusion safety, and relevant recommended initiatives including rebranding “contrast echo” to “enhanced echo.” Don’t miss JASE’s 11 clinical investigations including “Left Ventricular Functional Recovery and Remodeling in Low-Flow Low-Gradient Severe Aortic Stenosis after Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation” by Vasileios Kamperidis et al.

Next week is the ASEF’s third humanitarian mission in India – and you’re invited! Join our onsite team, led by Dr. Partho Sengupta and David Adams, for three learning sessions broadcast live from Bangalore. While in India, the team will be evaluating patients with known rheumatic heart disease, and during the live broadcasts they’ll present highlights from the cases they saw each day. Expert physicians located in the United States, including Drs. Thomas Ryan, Jagat Narula, Roberto Lang, Patricia Pellikka, and James Thomas, will provide commentary and engage in discussion with participants. Visit the ASEF Values page for more information.

If you will be within a short drive or train ride from Washington, D.C. on September 12, perhaps attending TCT or the ACC’s legislative conference, you won’t want to miss the opportunity to join leaders from ASE and across the healthcare spectrum in our nation’s capital for Value-Based Healthcare: Summit 2014. ASE’s Advocacy Committee Chair, Dr. David Wiener, recently wrote a great blog post about the Summit and the reasons why it is so important for ASE members to participate and help shape the discussion about how cardiac imaging, and specifically echo, will provide superior value in the new world of ACO’s, bundled payments, etc. Free registration for ASE Members, interactive sessions, and networking will make it worthwhile, even if just for a drop-in. Get all the details and find out how to register for this ASE Foundation event at www.asecho.org/summit2014.

Read release here.

Read release here.