Even though WFUMB was founded in 1973 there are many in the ultrasound community who are unaware of what WFUMB is and how it functions.
As the name suggests, WFUMB is a federation that brings together groups of ultrasound societies from around the world. There are six federations under the WFUMB banner:
AFSUMB (Asian Federation of Societies of Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology) which represents 18 societies with 22,731 individual members, MASU (Mediterranean & African Societies of Ultrasound) 8 societies with 700 members, FLAUS (Federation of Latin American Ultrasound Societies) 13 societies / 4,196 members, and EFSUMB (European Federation of Societies of Ultrasound in Medicine) 30 societies / 15,037 paid members. AIUM (American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine) currently suspended for non-payment of membership dues and ASUM (Australasian Society for Ultrasound in Medicine) are single entity societies representing 10,000 & 2,010 members respectively.
Each of these Federations has a governing council, elected by their member societies. The Federations then nominate two representatives to join the WFUMB Council for a two-year term and other representatives for WFUMB committees such as education and publications.Although WFUMB is incorporated in the USA, no office space is required as there is only one part-time administrator and a part-time website manager who work from their homes.
WFUMB is funded by the Federations paying 1.50 USD for each member. This funding is used to support 19 Centres of Education around the world, providing speakers for federation meetings and providing free education via its popular website.
The WFUMB webpage is becoming increasingly popular with site visits averaging 48,000 per month with the largest volume being from the USA followed by Canada.
The online WFUMB ultrasound book was released in August and was the culmination of 2 years of work by a dedicated group of volunteers. Over 150,000 ultrasound enthusiasts have taken advantage of this great resource.
If you have any questions re the workings of WFUMB, please feel free to contact us at lrudd@wfumb.org
The early release of the WFUMB Ultrasound Book in June showed a huge amount of interest from day one. Our visitor numbers to the WFUMB site increased within hours of advertising the new e-Book on our social media channels and we could see that we were fulfilling a much needed gap in educational needs.
Since the Northern summer, development has continued on our e-Book with videos added to most chapters and finalising the long version chapters which required more detail. The versatility of the e-book format means we can keep our WFUMB Ultrasound Book current and update it as often as required. We hope this online resource becomes the ‘go-to’ for all ultrasound students in the future.
Our e-book visitor numbers have grown steadily over the last few months
The WFUMB Ultrasound Book is online now at http://wfumb.info/wfumb-ultrasound-book/ and is completely FREE to all. Each chapter can be downloaded and printed as a PDF for use in a teaching environment or for further reference.
After 15 years as Editor-in-Chief of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (UMB), the official Journal of the World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, Professor Christy K. Holland has published her last edition in December 2021 https://www.umbjournal.org/article/S0301-5629(21)00454-3/fulltext.
Prof. Holland was a double major in Physics and Music at Wellesley College before completing Masters and PhD degrees at Yale University in Engineering and Applied Science. She is a tenured Professor in both the College of Medicine and the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Cincinnati (UC) with joint appointments in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Health and Disease, and the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Prof. Holland serves as Scientific Director of the Heart, Lung, and Vascular Institute, a key component of efforts to align the UC College of Medicine and UC Health efforts around research, education, and clinical programs.
She is a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine®.
She served as President of the Acoustical Society of America from 2015 to 2017. Prof. Holland’s research interests include ultrasound-enhanced thrombolysis for stroke therapy, ultrasound-mediated drug delivery, bioeffects of diagnostic and therapeutic ultrasound, and acoustic cavitation. She directs the Image-guided Ultrasound Therapeutics Laboratories in the UC Cardiovascular Center, which focus on applications of biomedical ultrasound including sonothrombolysis, ultrasound-mediated drug and bioactive gas delivery, development of echogenic liposomes, early detection of cardiovascular diseases, and ultrasound-image guided tumor ablation. Prof. Holland has gained national and international recognition for her contributions in ultrasound research, available in over 135 scientific publications and 9 patents.
UMB has grown under her leadership the past 15 years. The number of papers published in UMB increased by a factor of 2.5 from from 211 in 2006 to 329 in 2020, yet the journal impact factor rose from 2.011 to 2.998 in the same 14-year time span, despite the increase in this metric’s denominator. Prof. Holland brought the manuscript and review process entirely online in 2006. She initiated collections of papers on the journal website and, with the help of Associate Editors and authors, encouraged the submission of a lead review paper for each collection.
She personally handled the reviews of 1111 manuscripts in 2020, while securing express reviews of COVID-19 papers for rapid Open Access publication online. Importantly, Prof. Holland ensured contributions to UMB from over 58 countries around the world.
UMB is the only journal that balances basic science and clinical ultrasound papers and is highly complementary to the purely clinical ultrasound journals. Our journal enjoys a unique position as an official federation peer-reviewed scientific publication that is attractive to basic scientists and clinicians alike. Focusing on innovative diagnostic and therapeutic applications helps to define aims and scope that are different from its more clinical competitors.
Prof. Holland says that her job as editor in chief has been rewarding because of the dedication, diligent work and strong support of the deputy and associate editors, the managing editor, and editorial assistants over the years, as well as robust participation of the entire field in providing peer review and great content.The new incoming Editor-in-Chief of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, Professor Paul Sidhu, has given a short interview regard the reasons behind taking up the position, his previous experience in editing various journals and vision for the next 5 years for the journal of the World Federation of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB).
Could you give the readers some background as to your experience in Ultrasound under various positions you have held in learned societies of Ultrasound?
I have been a Consultant Radiologist with an interest in Ultrasound for over 25 years at King’s College Hospital in London. During this time I have witnessed an explosion in the development of Ultrasound practice, introducing contrast enhanced ultrasound to the United Kingdom and witnessing the development of various aspects of contrast enhanced ultrasound. The department at King’s College Hospital has developed contrast enhanced ultrasound in many aspects, particularly in relation to testicular ultrasound and has pioneered the work of using contrast enhanced ultrasound in paediatric practice. I lead a team who have developed a reputation for outstanding research in clinical development in ultrasound in the United Kingdom.
I have held various positions in different ultrasound societies, being a past President of the British Medical Ultrasound Society and also the past President of the European Federation of Societies in Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology. I also serve as the Chairman of the Ultrasound Sub-Committee of the European Society of Radiology. On taking up the position of Editor in Chief of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, I had resigned my position as Treasurer of the World Federation of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology.
I have published extensively on all aspects of ultrasound, co-authored a number of guidelines produced by the European Federation of Societies in Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology and have also been closely associated with publishing guidelines from the European Society of Urogenital Radiology, particularly pertaining to the use of ultrasound in male health.
What is your background in editing scientific journals?
I have been on the editorial board for a number of journals: Clinical Radiology, British Journal of Radiology, European Radiology, Ultrasound, Ultrasonography, Journal of Ultrasound, Medical Ultrasonics, Journal of Clinical Imaging Science, American Journal of Sonography and La Radiology Medica. I am a past Deputy Editor of the British Journal of Radiology, Associate Editor of Radiology and have recently stepped down as Editor of the European Journal of Ultrasound. I have also been guest Editor for Imaging, Ultrasound clinics of North America and Andrology. This experience is accumulated over the last 20 years and I felt I was in a position to apply for the Editor in Chief position at the Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology.
How were you appointed Editor in Chief?
Having seen the advert issued by the World Federation of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, I thought I should apply for the position as I have much to contribute to the development of academic ultrasound both in clinical and non-clinical aspects. The out-going Editor in Chief, Christie Holland, had been editor for 15 years and I had noticed that she was only the 3rd Editor in Chief of the Journal. The position is initially for 5 years and renewable, and having spent 8 years as Editor in the European Journal of Ultrasound, a predominately clinical journal, I relished the possibility of a new challenge. The appointments committee interviewed a number applicants, a rigorous interview process was undertaken and I was delighted to be appointed to the position. I would like to, of course, thank the out-going Editor Christie Holland, who has developed a sustained, vibrant and active journal well established in the scientific community.
What is your vision for the journal in the future?
Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology is a well-established journal, looked upon by the scientific community as a ‘go to’ journal for the publication of basic science and bench work ultrasound research. The journal has a large numbers of submissions and has published a considerable number of papers each year over the last 5 years.
It has an established base of an excellent editorial board with excellent associate editors and many dedicated manuscript reviewers. Publishing is changing with more emphasis on on-line material and the influence of social media cannot be underestimated. Over the next few years, the scientific literature and publication processes will again transform. The concept of publication sequences, on-line version of manuscripts and the dissemination of this knowledge through the ultrasound community, will make knowledge more readily available. I hope to see further substantial changes in the manner in which manuscripts are published in UMB over the next few years and hopefully also see this knowledge being widely disseminated to members of WFUMB. The journal has traditionally been very strong in the basic sciences and non-clinical ultrasound and I feel this should be supported and continued in the future. To this effect, I am going to strengthen the associate editorial board with more basic science input and also explore the possibility of bringing in more manuscripts and knowledge on the use of therapeutic ultrasound. The fact that UMB is the journal of WFUMB, which is predominately a clinical society, due attention will be given to high quality submissions from clinical researchers, particularly those reporting translational ultrasound advancements. I am particularly interested in publishing well thought out informative and timely guidelines from component societies of WFUMB, pertaining to current clinical practice.
Are there any other changes that you would wish to undertake in the next 5 years?
I would like to see the format of the journal alter progressively over the next 5 years, with perhaps altering the journal appearances and bringing the journal to a younger audience. This may involve being more proactive on various aspects of social media and altering the overall look of the journal. Nevertheless, the first 12 to 18 months will determine the direction of the journal and hopefully in this period of time we will consolidate further the good work done by the previous editors encouraging many submissions from pre-clinical ultrasound research but also see an increase in high quality clinical ultrasound manuscripts.
RSNA took place from 28 November to 2 December 2021 and a small group of WFUMB reporesentatives went along to met industry and see what developments have been taking place in the last 12 months.
Our very own Past President, Seung H Kim received honorary membership of RSNA 2021 for his services to urological ultrasound. Congratulations to WFUMBs past president for this well deserved award recognising his achievements. Seung had the following to say upon receiving his award ....
Thank you, President Mahony and thank you RSNA for giving me this honor. It is a great moment to me, a retired lifetime urogenital radiologist. As President Mahony mentioned, I am enjoying my post-retirement life with a specific condition, Nutcracker syndrome. I had been interested in this syndrome for quite a long time, but during the past two years after retirement, working with my nephrology colleagues, I found we know very little and even wrong about this syndrome. I am sure it’s a very common condition, and we have to confess we investigated too little and neglected too much about this condition, and about those patients with cause-unknown hematuria or proteinuria.
I accept this honor humbly, keeping in mind that RSNA encourages me to continue to share things I found about this condition with others. I think this might be a way of making radiologists more visible to our patients. I want to share this honor with my colleagues of the WFUMB, World federation of Ultrasound, and the Korean Society of Radiology, and my family including my wife Byung Hee, who is here with me as always. Thank you.
Seung H Kim
Over the last 4 years WFUMB EXB, the Publications Committees and Lynne Rudd have been working closely with the WFUMB Web Administrator to create a web site which could not only advertise WFUMB’s mission but maximise all the educational content available and create successful partnerships and collaborations.
The WFUMB site has grown hugely in this time and has undergone a great many changes. The global pandemic has highlighted our need for better digital communication in a world where travel remains sporadic and face to face meetings are less likely. The pressure to remain connected to our viewers has moved online. We need to engage our audience and keep them engaged!
The last 6 months has seen our numbers increase by over 350% mainly due to the release of our WFUMB Ultrasound Book. The visitors to the WFUMB platform increased almost immediately after the first release of the e-Book and continued to climb rapidly through the second half of the year. This culminated in a complete break-down of our site during a weekend in November. Our resources were at a maximum and despite some great efforts from our ISP we could not keep the site online for more than a few minutes. In reality, we had outgrown our webspace and could no longer operate on shared hosting.
Some fast action was required and over a period of 48 hours we moved to dedicated hosting and deployed our new design at the same time. We are pleased that our site continues to be popular and we will continue to develop and upgrade as required to enable us to spread the importance of ultrasound.
The participants of the ultrasound course gathered outside the new MRI building
After meetings in WFUMB EduCom and WFUMB CoE TFG it was decided that Zanzibar/Tanzania could be a possible candidate for a new CoE. The chairman of WFUMB CoE TFG, OH Gilja organized a post-graduate ultrasound course at Mnazi Mmoja Hospital (MMH) close to Stone Town, Zanzibar. In addition, WFUMB was represented at the course with Chair of Education Committee, C Nolsoe and Director of Kenya CoE, S Vinayak to lecture and take part in discussions about a possible future CoE in Tanzania/Zanzibar. We also arranged for 3 hands-on sessions with scanning of patients, which were highly popular among the participants.
Prof. Gilja is demonstrating wireless ultrasound on a patient with abdominal pain
We held a 4-day “Post-graduate course in ultrasound” with 27 attendees, both doctors of various specialties and sonographers. The local organizer was Dr. Mohamed A. Said, MMH well supported by sonographer Khamis. The local committee did a great job in preparing the course. They were also very clear about their efforts to work interdisciplinary in a setting of a CoE. The evaluation of the course by the participants were very good and they were keen to have more courses administered by WFUMB.
Dr. Nolsoe is presenting WFUMB to the audience with the CEO of the MM Hospital listening carefully
The local organizer Dr. Said (Radiologist) is giving his welcome speech
On day 3, when we had observed the local eagerness and received the assurance and willingness of Dr. Said and Khamis to step up further and possibly become a WFUMB CoE, we arranged a lunch meeting to discuss the options,- with Sudhir online on Zoom from Nairobi.
Prof. Gilja was invited to give a lecture on World Radiology Day (8th of November), which was celebrated on Zanzibar for the first time, with presence of the Health Minister
We are optimistic that mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar can agree to have one common CoE with 2 nodes. If they manage to raise and agree on an acceptable leadership, we may in the future look forward to a full application to form a new WFUMB CoE in Tanzania.
WFUMB has been collaborating with EFSUMB to produce student webinars over the last six months. There have been webinars held every month since June covering Liver, Kidneys, Spleen, Biliary System & Pancreas. Each webinar is recorded to enable us to show the presentations online after the event for further education.
Each Live events consists of ...
Past webinar presentations can be found in our Webinars sections of the WFUMB site and have shown to be popular. See Here >>
The next student webinar event will be held on a Saturday during February 2022 (date TBC) and covers US of abdominal vessels See Here >>
WFUMB is delighted to announce a new partnership formation with ICUS.
ICUS, the International Contrast Ultrasound Society is dedicated to the safe and effective use of CEUS to improve patient care worldwide. ICUS is offering 18 free of charge webinars in 2022, live and later archived. The website also has interesting features like Case of the Day and “Bubble TV.”
We have also received confirmation of another partnership formation with WFPI - The World Federation of Pediatric Imaging.
The World Federation of Pediatric Imaging (WFPI) provides an international platform for pediatric radiology organizations united to address the challenges in global pediatric imaging training and the delivery of services. WFPI have a wonderful web site full of resources including a YouTube Educational Portal and Child Imaging Safety.
ICUS & WFPI join our other partners, WHO, ISUOG & ISR – we look forward to collaborating with all of these prestigious organisations throughout 2022.
The organizers are preparing an exciting scientific program with one day of postgraduate courses with different topics – Abdomen, Breast, Musculoskeletal US, Emergency US, Vascular US, Ultrasound for the GP etc., and two and a half days of scientific sessions where the experts will present the newest information in diagnostic and interventional ultrasonography, covering the usual broad range of topics. Finally, special attention will be paid to the presentation of the results of the original research in poster and oral presentation sessions.
The congress will be held in the new Convention Center from the center of the town. More details can be found on the congress website www.wfumb2022.com.