During EUROSON 2023 in Riga the congress president initiated a one-day public event
to inform the layman and interested (“non-medical”) students from Riga about the benefits
and applications of ultrasound. The organizing team used different social media channels
for announcing this event held at the Latvian University Campus.
Although this outreach event was held at a different venue to the congress, many colleagues
of our ultrasound community came and gave talks and ran hands-on activities demonstrating
the wide and varied applications of ultrasound such as: ultrasound history, safety
aspects of ultrasound, basic imaging techniques including demonstrations showing general
abdominal images and the use of musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging in sports medicine.
These talks and demonstrations were presented in an engaging way and combined with
interactive quizzes.
In total, half a day of information was presented both in English and the local language
to the interested audience of a wide range of ages.
Young people were keen to come up to the stage and to scan for their first time with
mobile ultrasound systems and prepared phantoms which the demonstrators had brought
with them. For all sessions, a large group attended the different sessions.
As presenters and demonstrators, we had a lot of fun talking to the participants about
our fascination with ultrasound and answering their detailed questions.
We believe we should continue this public event in upcoming EUROSON congresses to
present and inform the public about our profession and the benefits of medical ultrasound
exams.
There is enthusiasm and interest on both sides.
Christian Kollmann
Chair ECMUS
Carmel Moran (safety committee) during the hands-on session of ECMUS showing the handling
of ultrasound probes on phantoms (© ECMUS)
