Highlights of the Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance 2024 Conference: the first joint European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging, European Society of Cardiovascular Radiology, and Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance conference

Abstract

Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance 2024 Conference (CMR2024) convened in London, UK, from 24 to 26 January 2024 and brought together 2705 learners and renowned cardiac imaging professionals to discuss and learn about the latest advancements. Organized by the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) and the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI), in collaboration with the European Society of Cardiovascular Radiology (ESCR), CMR2024 was the largest international cardiac magnetic resonance conference to date. This conference underscored the collaboration between cardiologists, radiologists, scientists, and technologists by bringing together three major societies—SCMR, EACVI, and ESCR. Innovative session formats like ‘Shark Tank’ and ‘Workflow, Innovations & Patients’ facilitated expert opinion and practical experiences sharing in a ‘TED-talk style’. With over 1168 abstract submissions and 75% acceptance rate, the programme featured multiple Early Career Award sessions, oral scientific sessions, oral case sessions, and rapid-fire sessions, all categorized by topic. Highlights included patient- and physician-centred imaging sessions, sharing referring physicians’ and patients’ insights of incremental value of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in patient’s management. The programme offered invited lectures in eight parallel tracks with three plenary and two keynote speakers. In addition, the interactive workshops and panel discussions provided a platform for knowledge exchange, support, and collaboration.

A great emphasis was placed on collaboration between radiologists, cardiologists, scientists, and technologists, showcasing an ideal cardiac imaging marriage as a model for enhanced patient care around the globe. The event also featured exhibitions of the latest CMR technology and software, offering attendees a glimpse into the future cardiac imaging. CMR2024 emerged as a remarkable scientific, educational, and networking event, in-spiring attendees to learn and collaborate within the global CMR community

Graphical abstract

1. Introduction

The global cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) community is a diverse group of stakeholders such as physicians, researchers, technologists, and industry professionals that gathered in London, UK, during Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance 2024 Conference (CMR2024) to provide a comprehensive platform for sharing research findings discussing the latest advancements and future trajectory of CMR innovations [1]. CMR2024 embodied a global approach to advancing cardiac imaging science and patient care through delivering wealth of knowledge captured in its programme. The programme committee consisted of 80 members from the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR), European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI), and European Society of Cardiovascular Radiology (ESCR) led by the programme chairs, Drs Stojanovska (SCMR) and Treibel (EACVI). The programme consisted of 338 faculty representing 36 countries, with special emphasis placed on diversity.

This paper delves into the key themes and highlights from the meeting (Fig. 1) emphasizing the innovations and collaborations guiding the future of CMR organized by clinical, basic science, early career, technologist, and paediatric/congenital heart disease highlights.

Fig. 1.

CMR2024 logo. This figure represents CMR2024 conference logo. CMR2024 was organized by the SCMR and the EACVI, in collaboration with the ESCR

2. The global CMR conference—together expanding CMR worldwide

The precis of the conference theme ‘global CMR’ was to democratize the benefits of CMR imaging worldwide by reducing the current disparity in the cardiovascular imaging care globally. The vision ‘Together expanding CMR worldwide’ tasked the global CMR community via CMR2024 in London to bring together a diverse array of stakeholders spanning from physicians, physician scientists, scientists, and technologists to industry leaders and policymakers with the goal to share costeffective CMR solutions for low resource countries. The cost-effective CMR solutions focused on minimizing the gap of geographic and economic diversity by democratizing access to CMR, fostering global collaboration, standardizing practices and protocols, and leveraging technological innovation [2], [3]. The CMR community is committed to ensuring access to CMR benefits to all patients worldwide, bridging the gap in cardiovascular healthcare delivery and improving patient outcomes and CMR workflow. Supporting the theme ‘Together expanding CMR worldwide’, the programme encapsulated a pivotal preconference guiding the learners through the basics of CMR imaging, continuing the wealth of education through the main programme. The physicians preconference emphasized the basic approach to CMR and provided preview to the delegates of the main programme (Fig. 2). In addition, the interventional CMR preconference workshop covered several latest technologies such as low-field, MR safety, thin-film printing, robotics, and pulse sequences.

Fig. 2.

CMR2024 overview. This figure outlines the conference structure. CMR2024 begun with three preconferences and the ISMRM/SCMR joint workshop listed in the first column. The main conference constituted of eight parallel tracks listed in the second column and additional themes. Two thousand and seven hundred five delegates attended the conference, 48% of which were women

3. Conference in numbers

This largest CMR meeting ever gathered 2705 (1286 or 48% women) delegates from 90 countries and 6 continents, 2283 of whom were in person delegates. The USA was the most represented country with 620 delegates followed by the UK with 603 delegates. Fig. 3 displays the number of delegates from the top eight countries. The meeting mostly attracted cardiologists (53%), followed by radiologists (17%), trainees (12%), scientists (7%), technologists (7%), and others.

Fig. 3.

Origin of delegates. This figure underscores the global participation of delegates. Ninety countries from six continents were represented at CMR2024. This pie chart displays the number of delegates from the top eight countries. The USA demonstrates record number of delegates followed by the UK and Netherlands

4. Keynotes

After the inspiring opening ceremony by the presidents of the two societies Drs Ordovas (SCMR) and Vliegenthart (ESCR), the Vice-President Dr Nijveldt (EACVI), and the programme chairs showcasing the collaboration between the radiologists, cardiologists, scientists, and technologists, the programme began with two spectacular keynote speeches by Drs Tim Ferris and Rolland Illing. Dr Tim Ferris, MD, as the previous director of transformation at UK National Health Service and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Chief Executive of the not-for-profit Massachusetts General Physicians Organization focused on the transformative impact of integrating new technologies into healthcare systems in his keynote speech. The speaker shared his insights on the opportunities and challenges faced in modernizing healthcare through technological advancements. Furthermore, he emphasized the transformative potential of integrating new technologies into healthcare systems amidst complexities involved [4]. The need for continued collaboration, innovation, and investment is to ensure technological advancements to improved health outcomes.

The cloud technology plays a pivotal role in transforming healthcare data management. Dr Rowland Illing, MD, as the director and chief medical officer of International Public Sector Health, Amazon Web Services, in his keynote speech highlighted the benefits of leveraging cloud infrastructure to improve patients’ outcomes through efficient data flow and integration. He further emphasized the transformative potential of cloud technology in healthcare, improving disease management through streamlined data flow through continued collaboration among all stakeholders and innovation to fully realize the benefits of cloud-based solutions in enhancing patient care and operational efficiency [5].

The parallel growth of CMR innovations and CMR throughput for enhanced patient care has led the continued work to improve CMR workflow, such as scanning efficiency and reporting efficiency [6]. While CMR is a great tool to diagnose and guide cardiovascular disease (CVD) care, a targeted protocol to address referring physicians’ questions is one approach to improve scanning efficiency. Dr Jennette Schultz-Merger elegantly addressed the application of CMR within a clinical workflow meeting the needs of clinical questions in the EACVI keynote speech. Furthermore, the two gold medalists from 2023, Leon Axel MD, PhD, and John Greenwood, MD, shared their inspiring journey in CMR innovations and vision for the future of CMR.

5. Main programme

The innovative design of CMR2024 meeting enabled eight parallel tracks with great emphasis placed on clinical and science aspects of CMR application. Geared towards patient- and family-centred CMR, for the first time, the meeting offered sessions covering the incremental value of CMR that brings into patient management. Enlightening stories from the patients of their journey battling cancers and the impact of CMR detecting cardiotoxicity at an early stage on modification of treatment regimen touched the audience. In addition, in a referring physician perspective session, a multidisciplinary electrophysiology daily conference was showcased as a model to enhance the importance and the utility of CMR in guiding ablation for ventricular arrhythmias for each individual patient. These two sessions emphasized the importance of CMR at the crossroad between referring physician and patient and family-centred imaging care [7], [8].

Two new formats of presentations were brought to CMR2024 to diversify the programme portfolio: first, a workflow, innovations, patients session where faculty presented innovations that led to change in patients clinical care in TED-like style talks, and second, Shark Tank where novel ideas were presented in an elevator pitch style to impress the panel of judges and receive the best team award.

6. Clinical highlights

CMR2024 covered a wide range of topics, from imaging heart failure (HF), ischaemic and non-ischaemic cardiomyopathies to efficient scan protocols, environmental sustainability, and debates on LGE in hypertrophic cardiomyopathies and ischaemia.

6.1. Heart failure

HF represents a highly prevalent syndrome caused by myriad aetiologies severe enough to impair cardiac function [9]. Simply, the aetiologies can be stratified into inherited and acquired, whereas the acquired aetiologies can be further dichotomized on ischaemic and non-ischaemic in nature including amyloid, drug toxicity, and inflammation [10], [11]. CMR is a great modality to decipher the aetiology of HF in individual patient, guide therapy, and assess patient prognosis based on CMR imaging endpoints [10], [11]. While the binary endpoint of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) is used as a gold standard to identify the underlying aetiology of HF [10], there are new sequences and post-processing techniques that demonstrate incremental diagnostic and prognostic utility over LGE. One of those techniques is strain analysis that has been shown to demonstrate added value to diagnosis and prognostication of HF [12], [13]. A focused CMR-based strain session reviewed the spectrum of CMR tools available for the physical measurement of myocardial strain, emerging guidelines incorporating strain for prognostication, the role of atrial strain in HF, and the role of deep learning to simplify analysis of myocardial strain. This session clearly showed the benefits of strain analysis in patients with HF, amyloidosis, and cardiotoxicity [14], [15]. Furthermore, CMR guides medical decisions in cardiotoxicity and myocardial inflammation from check point inhibitors; therefore, a session partnered with International Cardio-Oncology Society highlighted the importance of defining relevant imaging finding/metrics and accurate reporting [16], [17]. Given the importance of strain analysis, a dedicated hands-on case session alongside industry partners added value of CMR analysis of strain as an endpoint in detecting aetiologies of HF and therapeutic responses. The added value was shown in cases with takotsubo syndrome, amyloidosis and myocarditis, and therapeutic response on myocardial function after valvular surgery. Other valuable endpoints drawn from multiparametric mapping showcased at the hands-on session were native T1 mapping compared with LGE imaging, calculation of extracellular volume, and potential pitfalls in these measurements in cases of amyloidosis, haemochromatosis, and cancer therapy-related cardiac dysfunction.

6.2. Inherited and inflammatory cardiomyopathies

CMR has an established role in phenotyping inherited and inflammatory cardiomyopathies, their risk stratification, and prognostication in addition to guiding the need for genetic testing [17], [18]. While risk stratification includes presence, pattern, and extent of LGE, gene testing acknowledges personalized risk [18], [19]. Cardiac sarcoidosis, post-COVID and post-vaccine myocarditis, and Chagas disease were highlighted in a session as causes of inflammatory cardiomyopathies. Characteristic patterns of cardiac involvement in Chagas disease include apical ‘vortex’ lesions/aneurysms and various patterns of non-coronary LGE along with decreased function [20]. Repeat episodes of apparent myocarditis could instead reflect an underlying genetic inflammatory cardiomyopathy, and the importance of genetic testing in patients with family history of cardiomyopathy or sudden cardiac death and recurrent apparent myocarditis was stressed. Emerging understanding of biventricular and left-dominant forms of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy highlighted the typical CMR findings such as ring-like or arc-like pattern of LGE, septal LGE, and regional wall motion abnormalities [21]. Does LGE quantification guide management of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)? Renowned experts in the field debated on the optimal evaluation of LGE extent including quantification method and cut points for quantitative LGE extent along with limited reproducibility. This debate revolves around the diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic implications of LGE in HCM and it is ongoing, with strong arguments on both sides. While quantification of LGE offers potential benefits in terms of tailored patient management, some challenges remain, particularly lack of standardization of technique and post-processing methods as well as the integration of LGE with other clinical factors. Further research and consensus are needed to understand the utility of LGE quantification in the management of HCM [22], [23].

6.2.1. CMR in devices

Cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED) therapy is used in patients with HF to prevent sudden cardiac death [24]. In some patients, the device is placed before the aetiology of HF was established indicating the need for CMR to guide further management. Since CMR has increasing value in patients with CIED [25], a dedicated session on imaging patients with CIED reviewed the theoretical and practical concerns that remain as impediments to the scanning of device patients. These include safety concerns, artefacts and steps to correct them, challenges with reimbursement, and potential impact on patient management and outcomes in this group of patients who were previously excluded from CMR studies and imaging [26].

6.2.2. Ischaemic cardiomyopathy

CMR is an excellent diagnostic tool for assessing ischaemic heart disease [27]. A dedicated session highlighted viability assessment, microvascular dysfunction in women, quantitative perfusion, and dark blood LGE techniques. The role of CMR stress testing was highlighted by showing data demonstrating comparable outcome with fewer unnecessary revascularizations compared with invasive fractional flow reserve [28]. A related debate in conjunction with American Society of Nuclear Cardiology and Society of Cardiac Computed Tomography (CT) discussed viability vs. ischaemia evaluation including limitations of clinical trials to date, the need for improved trial methodology [29], and potential future role of plaque burden quantification by CT. The highlights from the quantitative perfusion session included the importance of adequate stress to identify inducible ischaemia, quality control, including evaluation of artefacts, complementary and incremental information provided by quantitative analysis particularly in multi-vessel disease, and the role in specific disease processes including myocardial infarction in non-obstructive coronary artery [30]. A dedicated read with expert and hands-on sessions covered qualitative and quantitative assessment of perfusion maps in ischaemic cardiomyopathies. The attendees learned how to qualitatively read and interpret stress perfusion and LGE images and understand the difference between ischaemia and viability in addition to microvascular perfusion abnormalities in the hypertrophic heart. A more advanced session focused on quantifying stress perfusion images and discussed the available techniques, quantification methods and drawbacks of quantification.

6.2.3. CMR beyond CVD

Most importantly, the heart does not work in isolation but rather leads to other organ failure and vice versa. Hence, a brand-new session offered insights of CMR utility beyond CVD. Imaging insights were shared from the heart–brain axis and role of the blood brain barrier and peri-neurovascular spaces including the effect of sleep deprivation [31]. In addition, the association between myocardial fibrosis and inflammation in liver cirrhosis and CMR insights in metabolic syndrome were emphasized [32], [33]. This session invigorated a great discussion among participants emphasizing the broader role of CMR beyond CVD [9].

6.2.4. CMR workflow efficiency and sustainability

CMR workflow covers two main aspects, scanning efficiency and reporting efficiency. Scanning efficiency increases exam throughput by decreasing scanning time and ultimately accommodating more patients. Key strategies discussed for CMR efficiency and workflow optimization included acquisition approaches, tailored exams to answer the clinical question, data quantification, and patient-centred reporting [34]. While artificial intelligence (AI) applications in CMR can augment efficiency, a dedicated session included a review of various forms of AI including machine learning vs. statistical modelling, the importance of quality control measures, and the importance of population studies using extremely large data sets. Furthermore, there is growing recognition of the environmental impact of CMR [35]. CMR community recognizes the need to address environmental sustainability in the delivery of care, and a dedicated sustainability session discussed the adverse cardiovascular health effects of climate change and the contribution of CMR imaging to greenhouse gas emissions [36]. Opportunities to reduce the environmental impact of CMR include powering scanners down when not in use, reducing low-value imaging, and leveraging AI to denoise or augment low-field images [37], [38].

6.2.5. Women in CMR

In a session on empowering women in CMR, the disproportionate effect of imposter syndrome on women was discussed as a set of reactions to working conditions that create stress and anxiety for an individual. The discussion revolved around ‘Tiara Syndrome’, which describes the perceived need to focus on job performance and outward displays of recognition (hence, the term ‘tiara’) and how ‘Coronation Syndrome’ may be a better term, as this is not a female-specific phenomenon. Reflection on challenging events versus focusing on key performance indicators as the only measures of success is a healthy way to determine self-worth. The importance of coaches, mentors, and sponsors for women in CMR was highlighted along with the importance of setting professional boundaries [39], [40].

7. Recent advancements in CMR—science highlights

Science and innovations in CMR are an integral part of CMR growth. The science kicked off with the preconference ISMRM-SCMR workshop. While clinical CMR is typically conducted at field strengths of 1.5 or 3 T, in recent years, alternative whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems operating at both higher and lower-field strengths have been introduced and deployed. The goals of this workshop were to highlight the opportunities for CMR at field strengths outside of 1.5 and 3 T, acknowledging the open questions of operating at high or low fields [41], [42]. Moreover, the emphasis for the invited speakers and planned discussion was to find synergies between high and low fields to advance both types of systems and build a community of CMR users/stakeholders at these less common field strengths. Bringing together 200 registered attendees, 35 abstract presenters, and 24 faculties, the workshop discussed the current state of the field and an outlook for what is needed to translate these field strengths into clinical practice. The following take-home points were established. Several groups have been exploring the use of 7 T MRI systems for more than 15 years, and their methods are well established, but often not focused on CMR. For example, the higher signal to noise ratio (SNR) available at 7 T enables spectroscopic imaging for evaluation of cardiac metabolism, as well as higher spatial resolution imaging than possible at 1.5 or 3 T. However, routine CMR on these high-field systems is still technically challenging due to the need for specialized hardware and pulse sequences, and clinical 7 T CMR scans are not reimbursed. Thus, CMR at 7 T is currently more suited to research applications than routine clinical use. The recent introduction of a commercial 5 T MRI system may serve as a bridge between a clinical CMR system and high-field scanners, offering both advantages of 7 T (high SNR) and 3 T (ease of use). However, these emerging systems must still be rigorously evaluated for CMR. On the other end of the spectrum, there has been a burst of interest in low-field MRI since the introduction of a commercial 0.55 T MRI scanner in 2020. While these scanners do not have a CE mark and are not FDA approved for CMR, they can generate high-quality images of the heart and vasculature. Moreover, due to the reduced susceptibility artefacts experienced at 0.55 T, pulmonary imaging is possible, enabling the exploration of cardiopulmonary interactions. Overall, the low SNR expected from low-field MRI systems can be mitigated using specialized pulse sequences and/or reconstruction techniques. Lower-field systems may be accompanied by a lower purchase and installation cost, thereby expanding access to CMR. Lower-field MRI systems may also enable ‘in gantry’ cardiac procedures, as conventional interventional tools and devices may be deployed at lower fields without the heating/artefacts seen on higher-field systems. At both high and low-field strengths, promising machine learning approaches were presented which enable rapid and high-quality CMR to be performed at all field strengths. In summary, this engaging workshop clearly demonstrated the high level of interest in low-field and high-field MRI scanners for CMR, both from basic science and clinical researchers. Furthermore, the latest research discussed during CMR2024 demonstrates significant advances in the use of CMR for early detection, risk stratification, and comprehensive management of CVD. Thus, the science sessions highlighted both state-of-the-art and emerging technology topics such as fast imaging techniques, AI in CMR, postprocessing techniques, multidimensional and multiparametric mapping, tissue characterization, motion correction, and novel contrast methods at the intersection between science and clinical utility. These sessions also covered the science from the 946 accepted abstracts which represented 75% acceptance rate (1168 submitted abstracts). Approximately 150 oral abstracts were covered in the abstract and case sessions, while the remainder were presented as rapid-fire abstracts, quick-fire cases, and posters. Featuring 9 oral abstract sessions, 52 rapid-fire abstract sessions, and 14 quick-fire case sessions, the conference covered a range of clinical, translational, and technical development topics and allowed many delegates to share their research with peers. Additionally, innovations in fast imaging, simplified acquisition, all-in-one sequences, quantitative CMR, multiparametric mapping, and low-field imaging, among many others, help us further improve CMR and make it more widely available [43].

The meeting highlighted a late breaking science session. The learning points from the two extraordinary late breaking science lectures included CMR biomarkers as surrogate endpoints to predict prognosis and early treatment efficacy. Notably, the first late breaking science paper showcased the importance of CMR endpoint to predict prognosis in patients with severe aortic stenosis by reducing the median survival by 30% or 3.5 years in the presence of myocardial scar and left ventricular remodelling. The second late breaking science paper showed that CMR can identify early therapeutic changes with Ninerafaxstat treatment targeting excessive fatty acid oxidation resulting in improved metabolism and diastolic filling in patients with metabolic syndrome. While this session has demonstrated step forward in the field of CMR, several challenges remain such as standardization of protocols, quality control, meaningful thresholds to detect change in the biomarker, and the time to detect change.

8. Early career/heart imagers of tomorrow sessions

The early career track at CMR2024 aimed at nurturing the growth and development of trainees and early career professionals in the field of CMR [44]. This comprehensive track addressed global challenges, provided insights into career transitions and professional development, offered mentoring and networking opportunities, and recognized outstanding research contributions in the early career abstract sessions. The first session addressed the universal challenges faced by the early career CMR practitioners in advocacy, education, and research as well as cardiology–radiology collaboration. Speakers from various countries shared their unique perspectives, highlighting the importance of understanding and addressing regional differences to enhance global collaboration and advancement in CMR practices. From a research perspective, experienced researchers from around the globe offered advice on securing funding, writing strong grant proposals, and navigating the research landscape within the professional societies. They also highlighted the importance of networking and collaboration. A focus was made to equip the trainees and early career professionals with essential knowledge and skills for launching a successful career in CMR. For this reason, several experts discussed critical topics such as building a professional network, efficiently integrating clinical with research responsibilities, and navigating the job market after fellowship. The teaching point of this session provided actionable strategies to successful career development by suggesting prioritization techniques to integrate clinical responsibilities with research endeavours.

‘Hearing from Successful Mentor-Mentee Duos’ as one of the most popular sessions featured inspirational stories from three successful mentor–mentee pairs across various countries. Sharing their journeys, the pairs underscored the importance and mutual benefits of mentorship in their professional growth. The two on-site mentoring formats at CMR2024—the one-to-one mentoring and the speed mentoring— matched trainees and early career professionals with senior CME experts to allow personalized guidance and to foster long-term mentorships. In the speed mentoring format, the mentees chose topics of their interest such as academia and research, collaboration and networking, building a CMR programme, industry and career opportunities, and work–life balance. The mentees rotated between tables with CMR experts gaining insights in fast paced setting. The Early Career Award sessions recognized exemplary scientific contributions in translational, clinical, and basic science research, respectively. Finalists were selected through a peer review process, and the awards were given to early career presenters based on their oral presentations, scientific merit, their contribution in the work presented, and the potential impact of the science to the field. Carlos Castillo from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile with his research titled Simultaneous Inav-based 3D whole-heart bright-blood and black-blood imaging at 0.55 T received the basic science Early Career Award. Zakariye Ashkir, from the University of Oxford whose research was titled Bridging the gap between ECG indicators of arrhythmic risk and the continuum of myocardial disarray and fibrosis across HCM stages received Early Career Award in the translational category. Last but not least, Lara Curran from the Royal Brompton Hospital received the award in clinical category for her research on ‘A genotype–phenotype taxonomy of HCM’. The track concluded with a networking event ‘Young community gets together’ that provided an informal setting for early career attendees and mentors to gather, connect, share experiences, and explore potential collaborations. This well-attended event facilitated meaningful connections among peers and mentors highlighting the importance of building strong professional network for career growth. In summary, the early career track at CMR2024 in London offered a plethora of sessions and activities tailored to the needs of trainees and early career professionals, making it a main highlight of the meeting.

9. Paediatric and congenital heart disease (P/CHD)

The paediatric and congenital heart disease (P/CHD) sessions were attended by imagers at all stages of skill and experience and commenced with an all-day preconference seminar. This preconference educational programme was practical, with fast-moving talks and coal-face recommendations for tackling the exceptions of CMR for CHD. Scanning this vulnerable population includes knowledge of the tips to avoid postprocessing pitfalls, processes for scanning non-sedated infants, benefits of different field strengths, procedures for scanning patients with devices, the role of multimodality techniques, and how imaging can contribute to personalized care for patients in single ventricle care pathways. A talk on artefact troubleshooting gave particularly pertinent instruction on how to address artefacts and improve CMR images, with the particular challenges of paediatric and CHD patients.

The preconference was followed by seven educational and scientific sessions within the P/CHD track at the main conference. Varying session structure provided imaginative formats for interactive learning, reflection, and discussion. There was a session describing the latest innovations and implementation challenges in foetal CMR and a session discussing the promise of 3D+ applications. In line with the ‘global CMR Conference’, the P/CHD track hosted a unique session on the specific logistic and resource challenges of P/CHD CMR in India, South Africa, Southeast Asia, and Australia, respectively.

There were two great debates with crucial relevance, concerning the advantages and disadvantages of CMR vs. other imaging modalities. One topic addressed the question of assessment of repaired tetralogy of Fallot prior to transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement; CT vs. CMR? This was contested between international leaders of their fields. The second debate concerned the assessment of anomalous coronary arteries; stress echo vs. stress CMR? Again, available evidences for the advantages and disadvantages of each modality were avidly discussed by international forerunners. Both debates showcased the multimodal discussions addressed in daily clinical P/CHD practice and highlighted knowledge gaps for future research. A dedicated 4D flow session highlighted the role of this technique, particularly in patients with CHD, allowing accurate flow determination and comprehensive assessment of all four cardiac valves in one acquisition. More advanced 4D flow parameters beyond simple diameter measurements, such as wall shear stress, flow vortices, and wall stiffness, may have a role in risk stratification in patients with bicuspid aortic valve and Marfan disease.

There were record acceptance and presentation of congenital abstracts in the cases and abstract sessions and at the quick fire and rapid-fire kiosks. Additionally, imagers in training expressed appreciation of the dedicated P/CHD ‘hands-on’ and ‘read with the experts’ sessions. Overall, the P/CHD track offered an imaginative and educational programme that supported excellent clinical care; spanning from the challenges of implementation in emerging clinical areas to the value of multimodality integration and efficient innovations in congenital CMR imaging in 2024.

10. Technologists’ highlights

It is of pivotal importance to advance the knowledge in the technical aspect of CMR acquisition, understanding the importance of each sequence in different CMR protocols, scanning efficiency and tips for best image quality in the midst of challenging patients. Hence, the technologist tract of CMR2024 was the most successful on record with all nine sessions being extremely well attended, both in person and virtually. A record number of 32 technologists from 10 different countries were a key part of the faculty, with many moderating or giving a presentation for the first time. The six clinical sessions were structured to provide both practical and pathological education on all the key areas of CMR. Presentations by experienced technologists delivered advice on acquiring high-quality images on subjects such as artefact management, LGE, parametric mapping, and phase contrast flow imaging. While clinicians outlined how diagnostic data derived from our images were implemented in various CVDs such as pulmonary hypertension, cardiac masses, and congenital imaging. Two oral abstract sessions were required due to the high number of abstracts submitted to CMR2024. This shows technologists are taking a healthy and keen interest in instigating their own research on a variety of CMR topics. The winner of the oral abstract award was Charles Benton from Bethesda Maryland USA, for his abstract titled Comparison of compressed sensing and SSFP cine imaging ventricular measurements and strain values. Possibly the highlight of the CMR2024 technologist tract was the Around the World in 60 min session, which emphasized the theme around the global CMR conference. Four technologists from, Greece, Singapore, India, and Australia, delivered fascinating presentations on all the facets of their own CMR units and services. It was hugely interesting to hear about the differences and similarities of CMR practice around the globe and the day-to-day life of the international CMR technologist. The whole technologist tract was a huge success, an immensely enjoyable experience and a wonderful opportunity to network and socialize with CMR technologists from around the world.

11. Other activities and meeting impressions

While education was the key focus at CMR2024, the opportunity for informal networking with experts in CMR was the common theme to gather most of the delegates from all around the world to the CMR2024 meeting in London. The organizing committee facilitated this through various social activities including welcome reception, childcare services, social outing playing darts, and early morning self-defence class with a spectacular view of London. The meeting had a spectacular online presence yielding 13 850 impressions from 4463 tweets by 1186 participants on X (formerly Twitter) social media keeping the CMR community abreast with the latest news and innovations in CMR (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4.

Social media presence. This figure showcases the extraordinary online presence on X (formerly Twitter) with 13 850 impressions from 4463 tweets by 1186 participants

12. Vision for the future: shaping the future of CMR

Overall, CMR2024 was a highly successful meeting bringing together 2705 delegates from all over the world to learn, network, and exchange expertise in the field of CMR. The meeting focused on the future of CMR emphasizing the integration of cutting-edge technologies, the global expansion of CMR clinical applications, and commitment to making CMR more accessible and patient centred. The meeting highlighted the pivotal role of CMR in advancing global cardiovascular health through transdisciplinary collaboration between radiologists, cardiologists, technologists, scientists, industry, policymakers, and patients.

Funding

None.

Author contributions

J.S., V.O., D.K., N.S., M.H., K.H., J.G., V.F., and R.N. drafted different sections of the manuscript. J.S., T.T., R.N., R.V., and K.O. were responsible for the conceptualization, expert guidance on technical aspects, and critical revisions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Declaration of competing interests

None declared.

Availability of data and materials

Not applicable.