Including new session: Aortic involvement in GCA including Live scanning session
CPD: CPD credits has been applied for.
Course Objectives
- The approach to disease identification and stratification in GCA, PMR and LVV: a probability-based approach.
- The role of imaging including MRI, CT and PET-CT scanning in GCA, PMR and LVV for diagnosis, prognosis, assessment and monitoring.
- Identification of normal vascular sono-anatomy.
- To perform systematic ultrasound scanning of the temporal arteries, large supra-aortic vessels, shoulders and hips.
- To identify basic and complex vascular pathological sonographic findings.
- To learn to assess the quantitative GCA Halo score.
Organising Committee
- Chief organiser: Professor Bhaskar Dasgupta
- Conference organisers : Orca Medical Ltd
Click here for an article featured in the PMR/GCA Winter issue about GCA conference.
Live Demonstrations and Supervised Hands on Workshops
- The use of Colour Doppler ultrasonography and ultrasound system settings.
- Identification of vascular sono-anatomy.
- Standardised sonographic scanning of the temporal arteries, large supra-aortic vessels and Aorta.
- Scanning of patients with vascular pathological sonographic findings in GCA.
- Scanning of vascular findings in GCA-mimicking conditions.
- Assessment of the GCA Halo score and reliability exercise.
Content
- Focused ultrasound course on systemic large vessel vasculitis, which consists of 16 hours of activities over 2 days.
- 6 hours for lectures and live demonstrations.
- 10 hours for supervised hands-on scanning of models, patients with large vessel vasculitis and patients with GCA mimics.
- 16 CPD points for the meeting have been awarded.
Prof. Bhaskar Dasgupta
Consultant Rheumatologist
Professor Dasgupta Professor Dasgupta is regarded as one of the leading clinicians in his specialty worldwide and has helped Southend University Hospital grow to become one of the foremost centres of Rheumatological advancement globally. The Unit is renowned for research, teaching and training. Also, a Clinical Director of Research at the Hospital, he was awarded an Honorary Professorship by the University of Essex - the hospital's first professorship at a United Kingdom university and has been key to forging strong links between the hospital and academia, with the relationship of the University of Essex and Southend Hospital.
Wolfgang Schmit
Wolfgang Schmidt was born and received his medical education in Berlin, Germany. He received his degree in internal medicine in 1989 and in emergency medicine in 1992. He became a senior physician at Immanuel Krankenhaus Berlin, Medical Centre for Rheumatology in Berlin-Buch in 1993 and received his rheumatology degree in 1996. Since 2005 he is deputy director and rheu- matology fellowship director of this hospital. His scientific work focuses on musculoskeletal ultrasound and on imaging in vasculitis.
He completed habilitation in 2002 and became a professor of Free and Humboldt Universities in Berlin in 2010.From 1999 to 2009 he conducted ultrasound workshops at annual ACR meetings. He is teaching at ultrasound courses worldwide and orga- nized the EULAR ultrasound courses in 2002, 2004 and 2012. He initiated the Eular Ultrasound Trainer Courses in 2012. He has first described the ultrasound halo sign in giant cell arteritis (GCA; Lancet 1995) and has published the first study on ultrasound in GCA (NEJM 1997).
In the late 1990ies he has introduced the first ultrasound fast-track clinic in Berlin-Buch which to date sees 100 patients annually with newly diagnosed GCA. He convened the EULAR guidelines on imaging in large vessel vasculitis (LVV) and leads the OMERACT group on ultrasound in LVV. He is principal investigator of phase 2 and 3 trials in GCA.
Prof. Berit Dalsgaard Nielsen
Berit Dalsgaard Nielsen is a Consultant in Rheumatology and associate professor at the Department of Medicine, the Regional Hospital in Horsens and at Department of Rheumatology, Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark since 2021. She runs a GCA FTC and has used vascular ultrasound for GCA diagnose since 2014. She is a member of the OMERACT large vessel ultrasonography group.
Her research focus is imaging diagnosis in GCA. She has a PhD from 2019 concerning the ability of PET to diagnose cranial GCA, sensitivity of PET after steroid treatment and the sensitivity of ultrasound to diagnose LV-GCA as compared to PET. Currently she is leading a prospective multicentre observational study to evaluate dynamic PET/CT and PET/MR in GCA diagnosis and furthermore she collaborated on several national and international research projects in the field of GCA and PMR.
Chetan Mukhtyar
Dr Mukhtyar is a consultant in rheumatology at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital since 2009. He is the vasculitis lead and runs a dedicated GCA service. He has used ultrasonogra-phy since 2013 and is a member of the OMERACT large vessel ultrasonography group. He has published widely including supervising, convening and co-authoring international recommenda-tions for the management of primary systemic vasculitis.
Vanessa Quick
Dr Vanessa Quick is a consultant rheumatologist and GCA lead at Bedfordshire Hospitals where she has been developing a rheumatologist led ultrasound driven GCA Fast Track Pathway for the last five years. She has more than 500 TAUS scan experience, has achieved Bluteq status for to-cilizumab use at the Trust, is a member of the ENRAD GCA specialist Panel, won the BSR Paul Bacon Award for improved outcomes in the Luton GCA FTP, regularly teaches and lectures on the use of ultrasound in GCA diagnosis and has authored editorials, review articles, book chapters and case reports on GCA.
Alessandro Tomelleri
Dr Alessandro Tomelleri graduated in Medicine at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (Milan, Italy) and completed a residency program in Clinical Immunology at the same Institution. Currently, he is a Ph.D. candidate in Experimental and Clinical Medicine with a project focused on giant cell arteritis pathogenesis. Dr Tomelleri has a deep interest in the field of large-vessel vasculitis and, to enhance his expertise, he spent 5 months as a Research Fellow at the Rheumatology Department of the Southend University Hospital (UK). There, under the mentorship of Professor Dasgupta, he improved his skills with vascular ultrasound. Thanks to this experience, he has recently established the first GCA Fast-Track clinic at his Institution.
Diana Prieto-Peña
Diana Prieto-Peña is a Consultant Rheumatologist at Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital and is a member of the Epidemiology, Genetics and Atherosclesosis Research Group on Systemic Inflammatory Diseases at the Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL), Spain. She received her medical degree in 2015 from the University of Cantabria and completed her residency in Rheumatology at Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital (2016-2020). She was a research fellow at the Department of Rheumatology of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom (2020). She is currently doing a Master degree in Molecular Biology.
Dr. Prieto-Peña research is focused on genetics and immunopathology of polymyalgia rheumatica and vasculitis, particularly on large vessel vasculitis and IgA vasculitis. She has published over 40 reviewed articles and 2 book chapters. She is the author of one chapter of the EULAR online course on Rheumatic Diseases. She is currently working on her PhD that focuses on the genetics of extracranial large-vessel giant cell arteritis. She has obtained a research contract from the Carlos III Health Institute of Spain (Rio Hortega program, ref. CM20/00006), in 2021-2022.
Alwin Sebastian
Currently a Consultant Rheumatologist at University Hospital Limerick, Ireland. Honorary research fellow at Southend University Hospital, UK. He completed a Fellowship in GCA funded by a grant from the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) (Bresnahan-Molloy educational fellowship award) under the mentorship of Professor Dasgupta at Southend. Dr Sebastian holds the MRCP both in UK and Ireland. He has completed a Masters in Rheumatology at King's College London with a Merit and is currently a PhD candidate in Giant Cell Arteritis at the University of Essex. He is presently leading a prospective multicentre (international) observational study in GCA (HAS GCA) which is included within the NIHR portfolio in the UK. He is an external tutor for the first contact practitioners (MSK masters) at the University of Essex, UK. He won the Paul Bacon Vasculitis research award from the British Society of Rheumatology in 2020 and runners up in William Stokes trainee research award from RCPI in 2021.
Asim Khurshid
Dr Asim Khurshid is consultant rheumatologist working at University Hospitals Dorset Foundation trust since 2013. He has a special interest in musculoskeletal ultrasound and giant cell arteritis.
Dr Khurshid established and leads rapid access GCA service for the Dorset. He has extensive experience in both musculoskeletal and vascular ultrasound in rheumatology. Dr Khurshid is also an experienced ultrasound trainer. He has keen interest in GCA and PMR related research and his centre is participating in several trials.
Mahdi Abusalameh
Consultant Rheumatologist and Physician, experienced in musculoskeletal and large vessel vasculitis ultrasound, and has tutored GCA US at several meetings and workshops. He has EFSUMB level 1 diploma in MSK US. In 2017, he set up and has been leading the Exeter GCA fast track pathway incorporating the use of ultrasound. He is PI of several studies on large vessel vasculitis locally. He was awarded the Local Clinical Excellence Award in 2019 for his work to improve GCA service and clinical pathway. Dr Abusalameh serves the Royal College of Physicians as a clinical examiner.
Dr. Qasim Akram
Dr Qasim Akram is a Consultant Rheumatologist and General (Internal Medicine) Physician working at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, Greater Manchester. Dr Akram leads on the GCA Fast Track Pathway and the Early Inflammatory Arthritis One Stop Clinic.
He is a EULAR Level 2 accredited ultrasound expert in rheumatology and his expertise is Musculo-skeletal and vascular ultrasound. He is a passionate and enthusiastic teacher and has recently edited and authored a book on 'Ultrasound in Rheumatology: A Practical Guide to Diagnosis', published by Springer Publishing Group in 2021. He is also a mentor for speciality trainees learning ultrasound during their rotations and organises and trains on regional meetings for the Northwest Rheumatology Ultrasound Network.
Day One - 19 May 2023
Session 1: Doppler Physics and Ultrasound Adjustments, Laker Room
| Time | Topic | Speaker/Presenter |
|---|---|---|
| 08:00 - 09:00 | Registration: Lounge Bar, Ground Floor. | |
| 09:00 - 09:20 | Probability based ultrasound algorithm. | Prof. Dasgupta |
| 09:20 - 09:40 | Doppler Physics and applications of doppler ultrasound in GCA. | Vanessa Quick |
| 09:40 - 10:00 | Optimising the use of (colour and duplex) in vascular ultrasound. | Vanessa Quick |
| 10:00 - 10:20 | Introduction and how to correctly adjust your ultra-sound equipment to perform a vascular ultrasonic examination. | Prof. Dasgupta |
| 10:20 - 10:30 | Live Demonstration: How to correctly adjust your ultrasound equipment to perform a vascular ultrasonic examination. | Prof. Dasgupta |
| 10:30 - 11:00 | Refreshments and exhibition. | |
| 11:00 - 13:00 | Hands-on Scanning: How to adjust your ultrasound equipment for vascular examination. | Faculty, tutors and delegates |
| 13:00 - 14:00 | Lunch and exhibition in the Lounge Bar. |
Day One - 19 May 2023
Session 2: Introduction, Doppler Physics and Ultrasound Equipment
| Time | Topic | Speaker/Presenter |
|---|---|---|
| 14:00 - 14:30 | Ultrasound of the temporal arteries. Technique, pitfalls and pathological findings. | Prof. Wolfgang Schmidt |
| 14:30 - 14:45 | Ultrasound of the non-temporal cranial arteries. | Chetan Mukhtyar |
| 14:45 - 15:00 | Live Demonstration: How to examine the temporal arteries. | Prof. Wolfgang Schmidt |
| 15:00 - 16:00 | Refreshments and exhibition. | |
| 16:00 - 16:30 | Ultrasound Halo score training. | Prof. Dasgupta |
| 16:30 - 17:30 | Hands on: Halo score practice. | Faculty and delegates |
Day Two - 20 May 2023
Session 3: Extra Cranial Large Vessel Vasculitis
| Time | Topic | Speaker/Presenter |
|---|---|---|
| 08:00 - 08:30 | Composite GCA outcomes, ultrasound monitoring and prognosis, HAS GCA. | Alwin Sebastian |
| 08:30 - 09:30 | Case Discussions. | Faculty |
| 09:30 - 10:00 | Ultrasound of the large vessels. Technique, pitfalls and pathological findings. | Prof. Dasgupta |
| 10:00 - 10:30 | Live Demonstration: How to examine the large vessels. | Alwin Sebastian |
| 10:30 - 11:00 | Refreshments and exhibition. | |
| 11:00 - 13:00 | Hands on Scanning Session. | Faculty and delegates |
| 13:00 - 14:00 | Lunch and exhibition. |
Day Two - 20 May 2023
Session 4: New Session - Aortic involvement in GCA
| Time | Topic | Speaker/Presenter |
|---|---|---|
| 14:00 - 14:15 | Aortic involvement in GCA. | Prof. Dasgupta |
| 14:15 - 14:45 | Aortic involvement in GCA - appearance under ultrasound examination. | Prof. Wolfgang Schmidt |
| 14:45 - 15:05 | LV-GCA and PET-CT. | Prof. Berit Nielsen |
| 15:05 - 16:30 | Hands on Practice and 1:1 Aessessments. | Faculty and delegates |
| 16:30 | Close. |
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The programme for each course is formulated by the course director and a description of the content and intended learning objectives is provided.
Who are the course directors?
The biographies for the Course directors of each course are provided so that you can see their experience.
Do I need to have scanned before in order to attend a course?
It is recommended you attend an ultrasound foundation skills course or have some experience of using ultrasound before attending this event.
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When someone is unable to attend a session a colleague can attend in their place.
What's included in the price?
The Course Fee includes access to all of the education workshop sessions, CPD points, certificate ,one night’s hotel accommodation and a ticket to the evening networking event.
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