Vol. 24, No. 1

ACC.06 is not just an annual scientific session — it is a microcosm of the cardiovascular global community. A program of unparalleled science and education, ACC.06 premieres creative and innovative programming that responds to individual member and the cardiovascular profession’s needs. Pamela S. Douglas, M.D., F.A.C.C., points out the changes in this year’s schedule to a Saturday through Tuesday meeting to better meet members’ needs and busy schedules.

She highlights the exciting extension of late-breaking clinical trials. In addition to the mega-trials, ACC.06 will also feature what Douglas refers to as “hypothesis-generating” smaller trials, with their breakthrough information that hint at what the future holds for cardiovascular medicine.

And, of course, there is the new, Innovations in Intervention: i2 Summit 2006, a unique and creative program developed to meet the needs of cardiovascular interventionalists.

According to ACC.06 co-chair Robert A. Harrington, M.D., F.A.C.C., ACC.06 takes the very big world of cardiovascular medicine and makes it manageable. Content and Community lounges focus on the broader therapeutic areas of Electrophysiology, Heart Failure, Vascular Medicine and Prevention, and Imaging. The lounges provide comfortable meeting places for connecting with colleagues of similar interests, interviewing topic experts, exchanging ideas or using the Internet.

Community lounges will also feature live video streaming of key sessions and viewing of electronic posters, and of course, food will be provided. When possible, sessions on related content have been grouped in the same meeting areas, too.

Cardiac Care Associate members and Fellows in Training will have special community lounges but Harrington encourages them to visit the lounges based on therapeutic content.

Content is coordinated and identified as Evidence, Interpretation of Evidence or Application of Evidence. For example, Late-Breaking Clinical Trials present evidence from research; symposia interpret the evidence. Meet with the Experts and Brown Bag Lunches review application of the science.

The ultimate community at ACC.06 is the Innovations in Intervention: i2 Summit 2006, a meeting within the meeting, specially geared for the worldwide community of interventional cardiovascular professionals. I2 Summit will feature live, simultaneous case demonstrations from Europe, Asia and the U.S., emerging technologies, expert simulation demonstrations and cutting edge interventional content. Registrants to i2 Summit will also have access to ACC.06, which takes place concurrently in the Georgia World Congress Center. William W. O’Neill, M.D., F.A.C.C., and co-chair of the new i2 Summit, makes a special point of inviting the whole cardiac care team to attend Innovations in Intervention: i2 Summit 2006. On Sunday, March 12, in particular, the i2 Summit features a Nurse/Tech Spotlight Symposium that focuses on integrating the latest interventional science into practice.

The success of last summer’s Integrated Imaging Conference was not lost on ACC.06 program planners. ACC.06 features a new Integrated Imaging Spotlight Session on Sunday, March 12, that includes sessions on CCT, CMR, Echo and Nuclear and integration of the various modalities with different conditions. On Monday, March 13, and Tuesday, March 14, sessions on imaging and diagnostic testing continue the discussion.

Practitioners were finding it harder and harder to get away from the office. For that reason, ACC.06 and Innovation in Intervention: i2 Summit 2006 begin this year on Saturday, March 11 and run through a compressed schedule that ends 4 p.m on Tuesday, March 14. Attendees don’t lose content; they just save time.

Customize your meeting experience with this new, free Web-based tool, ACCustom. Locate the people, products and sessions related to your specific areas of interest and plot your schedule accordingly. ACCustom activates automatically with every ACC.06 and i2 Summit registrant so you’ll know easily who is there and how to connect with them.
Click here for ACCustom.