Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine, March 2007; Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 35-39ISSN 1745-3054 Print/ISSN 1745-3062 onlineDOI: 10.1080/17453050701351703 35125

IMI CONFERENCE REPORT

Institute of Medical Illustrators’ 39th Annual Conference,Cardiff, 14–16 September 2006

Taylor and Francis LtdCJAU_A_235062.sgm10.1080/17453050701351703Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine1745-3054 (print)/1745-3062 (online)Original Article2007Taylor & Francis0000000002007CarlyBettoncarly.betton@uhb.nhs.ukThe 39th annual IMI conference was held in Cardiff’s Thistle Hotel on September 14th – 16th 2006. The tension in the run up to confer-ence was palpable in the Cardiff medical illustration department as members of the conference planning team worked with increasingurgency to ensure the smooth running of the big event.

The programme began with a keynote address by Marc Seale from the Health Professions Council, who spoke with clarity on the subjectof state registration and what it would mean for the profession. Professor Nick Avis then spoke about virtual imaging in medicine, intro-ducing us to physical simulators (such as the Eagle Patient Simulator®) which are currently used by medical students in Cardiff. He raiseddebate on the use of photorealistic and non-photorealistic virtual imaging and their potential applications. Phil Tilson followed with apresentation on medical imaging in dermatology. Medical photographers often work closely with dermatology departments and it wastherefore particularly interesting to hear about the relatively new SIAscope, which could in the future become a valuable diagnostic imagingtool for photographers and dermatologists alike. Mike Daley’s talk on the Access Grid® discussed how the continuous development ofvideo conferencing and the notion of the virtual environment is an advantage to all, as information, ideas and, most importantly, imagescan be exchanged with greater freedom and speed.

As someone new to the profession, I was absorbed by the New Voices session in the afternoon. Charlotte Frickey gave a succinct andinformative talk about her first year on the BSc Medical Illustration degree course; based upon her talks with fellow students she suggestedsome ways in which the course could be improved. She also fielded challenging comments from the audience very well for someonewith little experience at this kind of public speaking. Tom Walsh’s detailed study into the current provision and management of a diabeticretinopathy screening programme at the Adelaide and Meath Hospital in Dublin was of great interest. Tom described how he undertooka literature review in order to ascertain management protocols in use both nationally and internationally, and discussed how this assistedhis study. A comprehensible talk on multi-spectral imaging by Mark Bartley concluded the new voices section of the conference. Basedupon a project photographing scarring on patient’s skin, Mark explained his techniques, and discussed how a new photographic servicedeveloped in the department as a result of his studies.

Thursday concluded with an in-depth study of slit lamp photography. Whilst being detailed and informative, Paul Crompton deliveredinformation clearly, which aided those less familiar with this piece of equipment. With a combination of prepared slides and a live videofeed, his talk was a fascinating end to the day.

IMI Chairman, Jeremy Nayler, presented the IMI Awards at a special dinner that evening; Garry Swann was honoured with the PlatinumAward for his submission Granuloma Annulare. A slideshow displayed all the winning entries and it was pleasant to relax after what hadbeen a fairly intense day of talks.

On Friday, the conference format changed with workshops being presented throughout the day. Gemma Leyland and Nathan Edwardsgave a comprehensive account of how dental photography is practiced in The Dental Hospital at the University Hospital of Wales. Theaudience were given the opportunity to have a closer look at the camera and flash equipment that had been recently purchased, and theywere invited to practice the standard views that had been demonstrated. Sam Evans and Bolette Jones gave a workshop on bereavementsupport photography, and they explained why and how these photographs are produced. Interesting issues were raised about the ethicsof manipulation of such sensitive imagery. The group concluded that there really is no set approach and that all images of this type mustbe produced with care, compassion and conscientiousness. David Bishops’ workshop on lighting for still life photography was enjoyableand inspirational. It was interesting to see a different approach to still life photography; David’s more imaginative style opened up thescope for creativity within this often rigidly controlled profession. The CPD and reflective writing workshop by Andrew Johnson was intense,but successful in instilling within the audience the importance of reflective writing, offering suggestions on how to successfully completea CPD. Michael Samuels workshop on conflict management suggested some useful techniques to deal with aggressive clients. My dayended with Jan Sharps’ life drawing workshop. It was wonderful to end the day with what was a relaxing and enjoyable couple of hours.Though not particularly useful to my photographic skills, a medical artist would no doubt find this kind of exercise immensely beneficial,and it is an excellent method of improving your visual understanding of the human body.Image 1: Participants enjoyed the hands-on approach of the dental workshop.The annual dinner concluded Friday’s programme; awards were presented and guests were treated to the sounds of a local harpistfollowed by a University jazz band. Keith Bellamy was awarded the Norman K Harrison Award, and Paul Crompton, the Taylor and FrancisAward. However, more importantly, Martin Johns was triumphant in this year’s golf tournament.

Saturday’s programme began with a light-hearted presentation by Nicky Finan, who had recently returned from her round the worldsailing trip. It was an inspiring start to what turned out to be another hectic day. Chris Tetley gave an in-depth presentation on digital IR

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36 Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine, March 2007; Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 35-39

and UV photographic technique. Jane Tovey updated the group on current issues relating to National Occupation Standards. This talk wasan acronym minefield but Jane managed to lighten the subject a little with a ‘spot the acronym’ game; a nice addition especially for thoseunfamiliar with the subject.

The latter half of the morning consisted mainly of talks from those working within the forensic field. Dr. Cath Adams’ talk on bite markphotography was fascinating. She outlined the protocol and rational for documenting bite marks, a task more successfully carried out bytrained photographers than by other professionals. Ex criminal-solicitor turned forensic photographer Mark Carr gave an interesting andinteractive talk on forensic presentation in court. It was particular intriguing to see how forensic photography is practiced and viewed bysomeone who started his career on the other side as it were. The secret life of diagrams by Dr. Meridith Gattis discussed how and whyimages work as a communication tool. This talk, again aimed more at the medical illustrator than the photographer, was nevertheless

Participants enjoyed thehands-on approach of thedental workshop.

The delegates of the IMIConference 2006.

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extremely interesting and would certainly affect how one would view and use illustrations in the future. She discussed many aspects ofillustration that artists would use almost unconsciously, raising the audience’s awareness of the subtleties of diagrams.Image 2: The delegates of the IMI Conference 2006.Following the official conference photograph, Geraldine Thompson’s talk on diabetic retinopathy screening was delivered with enthu-siasm as she discussed the success of her approach to the problems and challenges in her London clinic. Martin Johns then discussedhis recent projects involving DVD delivery of patient information and teaching material. He demonstrated how they can provide a moreaccessible, interesting and stimulating avenue for patients and students alike to gain an insight into a condition. It was an excellent exampleof how our profession can progress and develop along with new technologies. The conference ended on a high with a fascinating andanimated talk on imaging in pathology, by Marc Smith and Steve Leadbeatter. They took us on a virtual tour of the new post-mortem roomat the University Hospital of Wales, and then discussed a case study that highlighted the potential use of photography as a post-mortemtool.

Overall the conference was immensely inspiring. As a new member of the profession I found the interchange of ideas and practicesparticularly interesting and found that my eyes were further opened to the diversity and potential for creativity that a career in medicalphotography provides.

KAT GRICE

Ophthalmic Photographers’ Society Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, 10-14 November 2006

Taylor and Francis LtdCJAU_A_229043.sgm10.1080/17453050701291396Journal of Audiovisual Media in Medicine0140-511X (print)/1465-3494 (online)Original Article2007Taylor & Francis0000000002007CarlyBettoncarly.betton@uhb.nhs.ukI was fortunate to attend the 37th Annual Ophthalmic Photographers’ Society (OPS) meeting held in the Riviera Hotel, November 10-142006 in Las Vegas, U.S.A. After spending the previous two weeks in Utah at Zion, Bryce and Grand Canyon National Parks taking in thepeace and quiet of chilly but stimulating sunrises and spectacular sunsets, driving into Las Vegas was, at first, an assault to all the senses.Glaring lights, jangling slot machines, smoke filled casinos, false facades and fantasy buildings all built a sense of unreality and a ‘cartoon-like’ lifestyle. Later, after spending two weeks in the city, the raucousness invaded me and the American zest for illusion permeated thepsyche. Watching the sun set over the ‘Ponte Vechio’ (a traffic bridge) and photographing the gondolas in the Venetian Hotel (ground

Figure 1. Moonrise over the Grand Canyon National Park.

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floor and second floor) an overwhelming sense of unreality still pervades. Before leaving, I was privileged to attend the Ansel Adams exhi-bition America, at the Bellagio Hotel in ‘Vegas and all of the sights of the Utah wilderness were poignantly remembered.Image 1 caption – Moonrise over the Grand Canyon National Park.Back to the meeting. Arriving a day early I was persuaded to help with moving the meeting equipment. With almost 500 delegates andall the major ophthalmic companies offering their machines for the multiple workshops and tutorials, the logistics were staggering. Thestorage room finally held more than thirty pallets of equipment worth millions of dollars. The company technicians were due to start arrivingand assembling the plethora of gadgetry at the end of the day. All of this was organized by a handful of dedicated OPS volunteers withan amazing degree of enthusiasm.

The educational programme was organized with five, concurrent, lecture and tutorial time-lines. The most popular were the OpticalCoherence Tomography (OCT) courses. With introductory and intermediary levels, four machines, instructors to each machine, therewas enough material for a symposium on OCT alone!

So how do you decide which topics are of interest when there are five different courses every hour to choose from? Courses rangedfrom basic to advanced and I mapped out the first day attending Applied Imaging Technology, Managing Difficult Patients and an OCTworkshop. The highlight of the first day was the Scientific Session with ten minute papers given on a wide range of topics. This was followedby an invited lecture given by Dr. Carmen Puliafito, the ‘father’ of OCT technology as applied to the eye. Dr. Puliafito showed us many ofthe improvements now under development including the ability to mathematically ‘peel’ layers of the retina in three-dimensional form.

Issues of the Visually Impaired was my first course for day two. This included delegates wearing goggles simulating various blindingeye conditions and being led along busy corridors showing us how visual impairment limits mobility in a crowded space, and was adaunting yet illuminating experience. Auto fluorescence was my next course. This important, but still unproven, modality has yet to befully accepted as a new tool. Previous work carried out in the U.K. and elsewhere in Europe has shown increasingly interesting results.

Figure 2. The OPSPhotographic exhibit onthe AAO trade floor.

Figure 3. Fundus camera workshop.

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Essentially, the suggestion is that the fluorophores in retinal lipofuscin have the ability to fluoresce when stimulated with short wave-length illumination. Of particular interest was the notion that it will be incorporated into protocols for dry, age-related macular degenera-tion pharmaceutical trials now being initiated. After attending a further four lectures the body was beginning droop with the brain cellsnearing overload.

Concurrent with the OPS meeting, the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) holds its annual meeting. With over 15,000 attend-ees, all major equipment, pharmaceutical vendors and publishers display their products in the exhibition centre. This appears, at first sight,to cover multiple hectares of floor space and certainly takes more than a single day to see all that may be of interest. Navigating the standsand assessing new products and software upgrades were, perhaps, equally exhausting as day two.Image 2 caption – The OPS Photographic exhibit on the AAO trade floor.Much of day four consisted of basic workshops on fundus photography, slit lamp photography and associated topics. Of particular inter-est was ‘New Technologies’, a short presentation followed by hands-on operation and discussion using the latest equipment to find outhow each technology could be applied to our everyday patient care.Image 3 caption – Fundus camera workshop.By day five, the OCT courses were still running and well attended by photographers, ophthalmic technicians, nurses and ophthalmolo-gists. The final period was taken up with the course Controversies in Ophthalmic Photography. This was an audience participation sessionand concentrated on either the photographer giving sodium fluorescein injections, or how to deal with the side effects of fluorescein andindocyanine green angiography.

The meeting finished, I am on the long-haul flight back to Australia reflecting on my experiences. Did I find the programme informative?The lecturers and workshop supervisors were knowledgeable and instructive and each presentation polished and professional. The overallprogramme was packed with interesting topics to the ophthalmic photographer although the five time-line simultaneous course layoutmeant that not all courses of interest could be attended. With such a large attendance, it could be argued that there was a degree ofinhospitality and it may have felt a little impersonal to the outsider. However, those in higher OPS positions went out of their way to makeeveryone welcome, partially alleviating the perception. My overall impressions were that the meeting organization was very professionaland I look forward to attending again at sometime in the future, and learning much more than I can by just staying at home.

CHRIS BARRY RMIP

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