Certified MRI Educational Session
Seeing is believing - The role of imaging in MS, Dr. Mike Wattjes
April 4th, 2016, Lithuania, Vilnius
Vilnius University Santariskes Hospital,
Auditorium (B311) at the Center of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine
Speaker: Dr. Mike Wattjes, Department of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Onsite contact details: Janssen Lithuania - Reda Friciene, mobile +370 686 30038
Agenda*
8.00-10.00 Seeing is believing - The role of imaging in MS
Dr. Mike Wattjes
Chairmen: Prof. Dalius Jatuzis, Assoc. Prof. Jurate Dementaviciene
10:00-10:15 Coffee break
10:15-12:00 Seeing is believing - The role of imaging in MS
Dr. Mike Wattjes
Chairmen: Prof. Dalius Jatuzis, Assoc. Prof. Jurate Dementaviciene
12.00 Lunch
CME certificates will be provided for Event attendees.
For registration please send e-mail to
Registration will be closed by March 31st, 2016.
* Agenda can slightly change depending on audiences’ questions and interests expressed
Background:
“Meet the MRI expert” educational session is intend to provide the practical guidance on obtaining and interpreting imaging results for clinical decision making and pharmacovigilance monitoring.
In addition this event will provide neurologist and neuro radiologists the unique opportunity to address MS specific issues from their own clinical practice to internationally well recognized and accepted MRI expert- Dr. Mike Wattjes who will be able to share his broad experience in managing MS.
This event is addressing the need to educate MRI clinicians in Lithuania where natalizumab recently got reimbursement and is in line with continuous natalizumab risk mitigation education requirement to better assess natalizumab risk-benefit in making treatment decisions.
The goal of this event is to improve the knowledge of MRI experts/ clinicians and radiologists providing them additional MRI information on PML diagnostics allowing them to deliver more effective healthcare.
In addition during this type F-t-F meet the expert meeting the attendees will learn how to establish MRI expert centers in their local hospitals based on examples from the international expert.
This educational program is designed to provide further advanced training on imaging complemented by clinical guidance and case presentations/discussion.
This is intended to establish and develop the role of imaging specialists within main centers managing MS across the region and to illustrate the importance of continued close working relations between neurologists and radiologists.
Dr. Mike Wattjes
Senior staff radiologist, Dept. of Radiology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands.Research Interests:
MRI in the diagnosis and monitoring of multiple sclerosis
Whole body MRI in the classification of hereditary muscles diseases
High field MRI in clinical applications
Neuroimaging in Neurodegeneration/dementia
Imaging of Neurotrauma /
After finishing his study of Medicine at Hannover Medical School in Germany, Dr. Wattjes started his internship in Neurology at the Department of Neurology, University Hospital Bonn, Germany in 2001. In 2002, he started his residency in Radiology at the Department of Radiology, University Hospital Bonn. During his residency he started his research activities in the field of high field MRI applications in Neuroradiology, particularly focusing in neuroinflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis. In 2007, he started a research fellowship at the MS and Alzheimer Center of the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam supported by the Exchange Program of the European Society of Neuroradiology. Later he became a clinical fellow Neuroradiology and was appointed as a senior staff radiologist in 2009. His primary research and clinical interest included neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases as well as neurooncology. He serves a reviewer for several high impact journals and for institutions including the Medical Research Council, UK, and the Federal Ministry of Research in Germany.
Topics:
The Role of imaging in MS
ü MRI protocol: how and when to scan MRI
Role of spinal cord imaging
Sources of variation in imaging results – positioning, sequences adopted, size/orientation/thickness of slices, voxel dimensions, frequency, role of contrast-enhancement.
ü MRI in the diagnosis and monitoring of MS
Diagnostic criteria
Differential diagnosis
ü Sources of guidance - Guidelines
MRI in monitoring and predicting treatment response
ü Assessing lesion load, MRI outcome measures
ü Systematic approach to quantification of lesions – new vs old, challenges with confluent lesions
ü MRI in monitoring and predicting treatment response
ü Advanced images and atrophy measurement for disease monitoring
ü New MRI outcome measures
ü New MRI approaches for disease monitoring (e.g., MR subtraction)
Introduction to JCV and PML
ü Background on nature of the virus, relation to immunosuppression
ü Current epidemiology (of JCV and PML cases)
ü Pathological mutations- current understanding
MRI in drug safety monitoring
ü MRI methods and strategy
ü Spectrum of adverse events during MS treatment
ü Opportunistic infection in immunosuppressive MS treatment
ü PML suspicion and diagnosis
ü Diagnostic algorithm - role of imaging and CSF viral DNA testing
ü Differential diagnosis, diagnostic challenges
ü Background on nature of the virus, relation to immunosuppression/HIV
ü Current epidemiology (of JCV and PML cases)
ü PML diagnostic criteria
ü Role of MRI in PML diagnosis and monitoring
ü Pattern of PML manifestations on MRI
ü Differential diagnosis and pitfalls
ü Emergence of asymptomatic PML – characteristics of early cases
ü Risk Stratification review – who should be monitored, when, how
Practical considerations – imaging protocols
Interactive cases reading session
ü Diagnosis
ü Examples of ‘highly active’ disease
ü Assessing therapeutic response – suboptimal response, breakthrough disease
ü PML cases – differential diagnosis, asymptomatic cases, ‘classic’ PML, IRIS, follow up after treatment
Future outlook – Imaging
ü How to systematically collect data – registries, ‘raw’ imaging data and analysis, common platforms
ü Areas of development on technical innovations, clinical research with imaging - endpoint
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