Radiologists, technologists, and radiation oncologists will be treated to the latest updates and insights in breast imaging at the Society of Breast Imaging’s (SBI’s) annual symposium April 16 to 19 in Seattle.
For incoming president Gary Whitman, MD, the meeting will serve as an opportunity to continue the SBI’s positive trajectory toward breast imaging breakthroughs.
“I think that SBI has made a lot of progress in the last several years,” Whitman told AuntMinnie.com. “It really is the premier organization for breast imaging. We want to continue to raise the bar for breast imaging and advancing the field and also continuing to make our good efforts to decrease mortality associated with breast cancer.”
Whitman is moving into the SBI presidency after serving his term as vice president. He previously served as president of the American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS), an experience Whitman said helps in addressing his upcoming role.
“The societies are a little bit different, but I think that oftentimes your past experience can translate and help you, especially when you're taking on a big task in a big organization,” he said.
Whitman is a tenured professor of breast imaging and breast radiation oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. There, he serves as the director of breast imaging research, the medical director of the mobile mammography program, and the lead interpreting physician for The Texas Medical Center mammography program.
Gary Whitman, MD, shares his thoughts on what attendees should take away from the 2026 SBI Annual Symposium in Seattle.
Featured sessions
The symposium will feature scientific, training, and educational sessions that will cover a variety of specialties within breast imaging. These include sessions on image-guided biopsy, interventional techniques such as cryoablation, and supplemental imaging for women with dense breasts, among others. Whitman said these sessions will have “something for everyone,” including experienced and early-career professionals.
One session to be held April 15 as a pre-course will focus on contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM). Here, registrants will learn how to set up a CEM program and interpret CEM exams.
“CEM is growing. It's a very practical technique,” Whitman said. “It's gained very good acceptance by our patients.”
The first day of the meeting will focus “very heavily” on BI-RADS version 2025, published in December, Whitman said. This will include information attendees about updates in mammography, ultrasound, MRI, CEM, auditing, and managing BI-RADS 3 lesions.
The keynote speaker this year will be Woojin Kim, MD, chief strategy officer and chief medical information officer at HOPPR.
Kim will explore emerging applications in breast imaging AI, as well as what radiologists may stand to gain come 2050. He will also discuss risks and how decisiveness could shape how the field adopts AI into practice.
And among all sessions, some will focus on workforce efficiency strategies, such as remote diagnostics, to address staffing challenges.
Whitman discusses the biggest workforce challenges to breast imaging, including staffing shortages, and how the symposium will address these.
Presidential goals
Whitman said his goals for his term include growing the SBI’s size to be a farther-reaching organization by recruiting more members, as well as seeking more collaboration with other medical societies.
“I mean, I think really to continue our trajectory, the society has grown in recent years, and it's right between a small society that needs to be managed versus a large society that can live and thrive on its own,” he said. “It's a little bit analogous to when you're renting an apartment and then you buy your first house, you have to take care of certain things.”
