Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Society of Radiology (ESR) organized the first online version of the European Congress of Radiology (ECR). From July 15 to 19, 2020, a record number of 15,265 delegates from more than 130 countries took part in the digital ECR 2020. That corresponds to a rise of 5 percent on the previous year.

With its impressive mix of didactic, scientific, interactive, and industry-related content, the first online congress of the ESR was a unique experience and hailed as a success in overcoming the challenges posed by COVID-19. The participants in ECR 2020 were offered more than 50 live sessions, ranging from exciting plenary lectures and special focus sessions through state-of-the-art presentations on COVID-19 and a special livestream for radiologists.

Virtual Exhibition & ESR Table Talks

A total of 216 companies participated in the new, innovative online format "Virtual Exhibition", presenting their products and holding webinars. As part of the virtual exhibition, a "Vienna Lounge" was also set up with the aim of creating just the right Viennese ambience. Concerts, cooking courses, and virtual tours of Viennese museums were on the program.

Many companies also organized specific satellite symposia. Another new feature of the digital ECR 2020 were the ESR Table Talks, which were presented by the hosts Prof. Boris Brkljačić and Prof. Lorenzo Derchi directly from the European Society of Radiology building in the heart of Vienna. More than 25 experts and big names in radiology took part in the table talks. This enabled the participants to gain insights into numerous topics in the field.

"The educational content at this year's congress has been of an extremely high standard and, although I hope that we can all meet together in Vienna again soon, I think this congress has proved that online conference formats are possible and that the ESR has successfully set an industry standard with last week's meeting," said congress president Prof. Boris Brkljačić, summing up the congress on a positive note. The ECR 2020 will continue until December 2020 with ten highlight weeks that deal with a series of carefully selected topics.

Information on the highlight weeks at www.myesr.org