Yet another medical imaging conference has been called off due to concerns over the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) announced Friday that it has canceled its annual meeting scheduled for March 21-25 in New York City.
The AIUM leadership said it unanimously made the decision to cancel the conference to help "flatten the curve" of infection and keep the focus of healthcare workers on helping to stop the spread of the virus. AIUM 2020 is the first annual meeting to be canceled in the organization's 70-year history.
Registration fees will be refunded, according to a FAQ for the cancellation of the meeting. The AIUM said it's also working now to determine if and how the planned content for AIUM 2020 may be shared further.
"We are exploring other ways to present the content you were all expecting," the AIUM Board of Governors said in a statement.
AIUM 2021 will be held April 10-14, 2021, in Orlando, FL.
Other radiology meetings that have been canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak include the European Congress of Radiology, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, the Society of Interventional Radiology, and the American College of Cardiology.
![Examples of ultrasound findings and techniques. (A) Images in a 39-year-old male patient with a mass in the left thigh. The mass is heterogeneous on the B-mode US image (compared with the patient in D) and showed increased microvascularity (superb microvascular imaging [SMI]) and shear-wave elastography (SWE) values. Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy (with pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in surgical specimen). (B) Images in an 18-year-old male patient with a mass in the left leg. The mass is hypoechoic on the B-mode image, with no other findings suggestive of malignancy. The lesion is in contact with the cortex of the tibia, which is slightly irregular. CT revealed a doubtful anteromedial tibial erosion. The microvascular study demonstrated high vascularization, suggestive of malignancy. Periosteal Ewing sarcoma was diagnosed with both histologic and immunohistochemical confirmation. (C) Images in a 69-year-old female patient with a lump growing on the outside of the left leg. Multiple SWE examinations were performed (please note the high values obtained in the measurements, whereas the color map highlights the stiffness relative to adjacent tissues). SMI showed areas of increased vascularization to target for sampling. Undifferentiated spindle cell sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with residual leiomyosarcoma in the surgical specimen after neoadjuvant therapy. (D) Images in a 56-year-old female patient with a mass in the right thigh. The mass is heterogeneous at both B-mode ultrasound (similar to patient A) and MRI (coronal T2-weighted spectral attenuated inversion recovery [SPAIR]; T1-weighted pre-contrast and postcontrast imaging), which even shows uptake after the administration of paramagnetic contrast material, which is traditionally suggestive of malignancy. Low values at SMI and elastography are suggestive of benignity. Spindle cell lipoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with atypical spindle cell lipomatous tumor in the surgical specimen.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/08/images-radiol250278fig2.APCFLSvX6p.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
