ASE and the ASE Foundation are offering three grants worth up to $25,000 USD to early career scientists in cardiovascular imaging. The Early-Career Development Grant for Echo Scientists (EDGES) provides support and professional development opportunities for early career members in the Society and creates an avenue for the continued evolution of echocardiography through technical advancement and new applications.

The grants will fund projects that address a clinical gap in cardiovascular ultrasound imaging through research led by an early career scientist. Physicians, PhDs, veterinarians, sonographers, and other healthcare professionals who are within seven years from having completed training are eligible to apply now through July 1, 2023, 5:00 PM ET. The principal investigator must be an active ASE member.

If you’re headed to the 34^th Annual ASE Scientific Sessions in National Harbor, Maryland, this June, make sure you stop by the ASE Foundation Booth! We will be located in the Maryland Ballroom Lobby. We have quite a few things planned and cannot wait to see you in person! Come say hi, donate (of course!), and:

• Join the Cardiovascular Challenge, sponsored by AGFA HealthCare, Bracco Diagnostics, Bristol Myers Squibb, Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC), Mayo Clinic, Siemens Healthineers and UltraSight.
• Check out photos from prior years’ Images from the Heart exhibits. Photos are available to take home with a $100 donation in the photographer’s name.
• Pick up your Research Awards Gala seat card.

We look forward to seeing you in National Harbor in a few weeks! 

The June issue of JASE includes “Preservation of Right Ventricular Function in Middle-Aged Recreational Endurance Athletes.” Lead author Mina Girgis, MD remarks, “Our study demonstrates that right ventricular (RV) systolic function, based on RV free-wall strain, is preserved in middle-aged endurance athletes. This finding alleviates concerns raised in previous studies and suggests the safety of continued exercise in this age group.” Notably, this issue also features research findings supported in part by the ASE Foundation in accordance with the World Alliance Societies of Echocardiography (WASE), entitled, “Age-, Sex-, and Race-Based Normal Values for Left Ventricular Circumferential Strain from the World Alliance Societies of Echocardiography Study.”



Additionally, a second clinical investigation assesses gender and racial differences in the context of indexing LV end-diastolic volume to normal echocardiography data. Editorial comments accompany two articles including one on new normative values for circumferential strain and another on price transparency and cardiovascular spending. This issue features a focus topic of the right heart, supplying several clinical investigations such as identification of a pulmonary hypertension phenotype in heart failure, prognostic impact of RV strain in isolated severe tricuspid regurgitation, RV electromechanical dyssynchrony’s relation to Ebstein anomaly, and analysis of RV intracardiac flow in pediatric patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot. Various brief research communications enhance this array of topics including a decade-long study on the changes in myocardial tissue velocities presented by the Copenhagen City Heart Study. A letter to the editor will engage readers regarding the importance of accurate echocardiographic assessment for improved cardiovascular outcomes in women.

To better understand what captures the interest of JASE’s readership, Patricia A. Pellikka, MD, FASE, utilizes her editorial to examine elements of some recent articles with the greatest number of downloads. From educational ASE guidelines to insightful studies in the Brief Communications section, JASE strives to continue providing valuable offerings to its readers.

In his final President’s Message, Stephen H. Little, MD, FASE, reflects on the progress of initiatives begun in his tenure as president and points to the groundwork laid for future focus areas of the Society. Please see the June ASE Education Calendar for a listing of educational opportunities far and wide.

The Alliance for Physician Certification and Advancement (APCA) administers the Registered Physician in Vascular Interpretation (RPVI®) examination to allow physicians, fellows, and radiologists to test and demonstrate their knowledge of echocardiography based on an objective standard. ASE’s new Registered Physician Vascular Interpretation Online Review Course will help individuals prepare for the RPVI exam. This course is ideal for board review, introductory learning, or as a review for experienced imaging readers.

Course Highlights:

• Gain access to expert-led lectures featuring cases and practice exam questions.
• Examine a variety of vascular ultrasound physics and concepts to better understand how to read and interpret vascular imaging.
• Topics covered in the course include vascular ultrasound physics, image acquisition, and carotid duplex, among others.
• Get an overview of all vascular imaging modalities from internationally renowned faculty.
• An opportunity for practical learning with didactic content that includes clinical case studies for learners of all abilities.
• Earn a maximum of 9.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
• Registrants have unlimited on-demand access to course content through March 14, 2026, 11:59 PM ET.

ASE members receive reduced registration fees as a benefit of membership. The RPVI Online Review Course costs $500 for members and $600 for nonmembers. To receive member pricing, log in to your ASE Member Portal before accessing the Learning Hub.

Download the Final Program for Event Details

The ASE 2023 Final Program is now available! Already Registered? Download the Final Program to begin planning your schedule. Not yet registered? Download the Final Program to see the many education and networking opportunities offered at ASE 2023, and register today!

The 34^th Annual Scientific Sessions in National Harbor, Maryland, June 23-26, will focus on cardiovascular ultrasound as foundational to cardiovascular practice, while also examining the exciting future of the field. Education, science, innovation, public service, global outreach, and clinical care will be on display throughout the conference. Both in-person and virtual registration options are available.

NEW THIS YEAR

• The Arena: An all-new construction hosting “can’t miss” sessions including debates, “TED” style talks, The Heart Team in Action, Echo in the Wild, Echo Heard Round the World, Best of Imaging Research, and AI and the Workflow in the Echo Lab, to name a few!
• Cardio-Oncology Building Blocks Bootcamp: All you need to know about this growing field built into an extended session.
• Echogenomics: Interaction and innovation in pediatric cardiology.
• The Cutting Edge of POCUS Training and Advantages and Limitations of Cardiac POCUS: A Case Series: Focus on critical care echo and cardiac POCUS.
• Engineering in the Echo Lab: Building the Future: Session on academic and industry collaboration.
• Echo Lab Medical and Technical Directors Forum: Lab management in challenging times.

ASE is committed to providing our members with the tools and resources they need to ensure coding accuracy and compliancy, and to maximize appropriate revenue. Log in to the ASE Member Portal and access the 2023 Coding Connection document under the “Advocacy” tab.

This free resource provides answers to echocardiography specific billing and assists you in coding accurately for the services you provide, especially in today’s environment of declining reimbursement and increased scrutiny. This newsletter includes information on recent coding updates for echocardiography services, evaluation and management services, Medicare split/shared visit changes, and ASE’s top 10 coding questions and answers.

ASE provides member-only access to coding information and a coding expert who is available to answer individual coding questions free of charge.

The May 2023 Echo magazine is now online! This issue contains interesting articles written by ASE members, including:

• The House of Cardiology, page 4
• Your Sonographer Scientific Sessions Questions Answered, What Sessions to Attend!, page 6
• Sonographer Volunteer of the Month-May, Congratulations Courtney Cassidy, RDCS, FASE, page 9
• Excitement at the ASE 2023 Scientific Sessions: The Interventional Echocardiography Track, page 11
• Perioperative Echocardiography Council Track Highlights of the ASE 2023 Scientific Sessions, page 13
• A Short History of ASE’s Scientific Sessions, page 15
• Recognizing ASE’s 2023 Award Winners, page 19
• Recap of the ASE Foundation’s March Games Fundraising Competition, page 27

ASE members can write and submit articles to Echo magazine for publication. The article submission deadline for the August 2023 issue is June 15. Visit ASE’s website to review the author submission guideline requirements on formatting, word length, etc. Contact Echo@ASEcho.org with questions and view past issues at ASEcho.org/EchoMagazine.

Free for ASE Members

Register now for ASE’s next live webinar on June 6, 2023, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM ET, Entering the ICE Arena: Steps for the Imager to Learn Intracardiac Echocardiography. This webinar will offer an introduction to the use of 2D and 3D ICE for structural heart procedures. This webinar is free for ASE members and $40 for nonmembers.

Speakers: Muhamed Saric, MD, FASE, and Markus Scherer, MD, FASE

Learning Objectives:

• Understand orientation of ICE views and comparison with other imaging modalities
• How to acquire ICE views with catheter manipulation
• How to interact with 3D ICE data sets on the echo cart

Did you miss Echo Hawaii or State-of-the-Art Echocardiography (SOTA) earlier this year? Or maybe you are looking for unlimited on-demand access to the latest education on established and emerging cardiovascular ultrasound technologies? Good news! Register for ASE’s Advanced Echo Online Course and access 49 presentations compiled from the 2023 Echo Hawaii and SOTA courses. Expert faculty discuss state-of-the-art technologies with a particular focus on how they can be effectively applied in a clinical setting.

Registration includes access to course materials until March 27, 2024, CME credits, and MOC points, and ASE members receive reduced registration fees as a benefit of membership. Just log in to your ASE Member Portal before registering.