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Aims of the Society

The European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (ESGAR) is a not-for-profit, educational and scientific organisation founded by radiologists working in close association with gastroenterologists, hepatologists, abdominal surgeons, pathologists, and other allied specialists. Its members have a special interest in the imaging and treatment of patients with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and associated abdominal organs.

The aims of the Society are:

  • To advance the study of gastrointestinal and abdominal imaging and intervention, in Europe, by encouraging radiological and clinical excellence, teaching, research and further education in the subspecialty,
  • To encourage the harmonious interchange and integration of all European radiologists with an interest in this field,
  • To create links with abdominal radiologists from other continents and with other Societies in the fields of abdominal surgery, gastroenterology, hepatology and other allied specialties.

ESGAR is registered as a not-for-profit organisation in Vienna, Austria. The Executive Committee of the Society is structured to consist of members from countries throughout Europe.

Annual Meeting and and Postgraduate Course


The Annual Meeting, the most important event of the Society's calendar, is held in a different European country each year. The Postgraduate Course covers a specific topic each year but all annual meetings are devoted to the main theme of "Abdominal Imaging and Intervention".
The meetings consist of invited educational lectures, tutorials, scientific presentations and satellite symposia structured in conjunction with our industrial partners. They are organised by the ESGAR Office together with a local committee chaired by the meeting president. The scientific programme of the meetings is developed by the Programme Committee, a sub-committee of the Executive Committee.

In realising the objective of creating links between continents and other Societies the 1st Joint Meeting with the Society of Abdominal Radiologists (SAR) took place to general acclaim in Orlando in 2002 and was followed by the 2nd Joint Meeting in Greece in 2006. After the political changes in Eastern Europe, the Society has been actively promoting exchanges across the old divide since its foundation. The first meeting in Eastern Europe took place in Budapest/HU in 2003.

Education, Training and Research


Since its foundation the Society has been closely associated with the European Association of Radiology (EAR) and the European Congress of Radiology (ECR). The members of ESGAR have played a central role in the evolution of European radiology, the establishment of their sub-speciality and the development of a specific educational curriculum, today known as the ETC, European Training Curriculum. In March 2007 both EAR and ECR agreed to integrate all their functions into the newly founded European Society of Radiology (ESR). ESGAR is represented in various committees of the ESR and involved in the programme planning of ECR. The Society has developed a strategy to promote teaching across Europe in specific aspects of its discipline by means of peripatetic hands-on workshops with a high teacher to student ratio. The first series of workshops commenced in September 2003 in Amsterdam/NL, where an expert ESGAR faculty taught two groups of 40 students the technique and interpretation of CT Colonography (CTC). Since 2007, additional series of workshops have been developed to different topics. Today, ESGAR workshops, be it on-line or on-site, keep playing a very important role in educating Radiologists around the world. ESGAR workshops are recognised by many national Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiological societies around the globe.

Multidisciplinary workshops are organised in collaboration with various clinical societies such as the ESCP (European Society of Coloproctology), ESDO (European Society of Digestive Oncology), EPC (European Pancreatic Club), EDS (European Society of Digestive Surgery) and ECCO (European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation).
ESGAR is a member society of the UEG, United European Gastroenterology and is represented in various committees, contributing to the organisation of the UEG week and participating in the work of all committees.
Another important and very successful initiative of the Society to promote GI imaging among new generations of radiologists and senior residents is the Junior ESGAR Summer School. The structure consists of a five-day programme, based on topics from GI sub-specialty European curriculum. The first Summer School took place in Rome/IT in 2015. The Summer School is repeated annually in July.


Future Objectives


The officers of the Society believe that the founders' aims and ambitions have been fulfilled. Today, the Society represents a major forum for all European radiologists interested in this subspecialty. It has succeeded in transferring knowledge and information across Europe, has generated integration and friendship amongst radiologists in this particular field and encouraged close multidisciplinary co-operation with gastroenterologists, surgeons and pathologists. Regarding its future, the Society is committed to creating closer links with other groups involved in gastroenterology.

Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting, the most important event of the Society's calendar, is held in a different European country each year. The Postgraduate Course covers a specific topic each year but all annual meetings are devoted to the main theme of "Abdominal Imaging and Intervention".

Workshops

ESGAR workshops, be it on-line or on-site, are playing a very important role in educating Radiologists around the world. Various well established workshop lines take place each year as well as multidisciplinary workshops that are organised in collaboration with various clinical societies.

Research

The field of radiology in general, and ESGAR in particular, have always depended on pioneering individuals and institutions to further its art and science. ESGAR provides an online research platform to foster imaging research in gastrointestinal and abdominal radiology.

Education

ESGAR offers various life-long learning possibilities with the e-Education portal, Cases of the month and the ESGAR Journal Watch. The Young ESGAR e-Academy provides residents and young radiologists with educational lectures and case presentations on different topics.

Young ESGAR

The main goal of Young ESGAR is to generate a forum of enthusiastic young members to represent the interests of young residents, radiologists and researchers within ESGAR. We aim to create an informal and interactive platform to network, exchange ideas and help shape the future of ESGAR.


Constitution

The Society is regulated by by-laws. The supreme authority of the Society is the General Assembly which consists of all members holding voting rights and is convened at the annual meeting. The Executive Committee and its standing sub-committees are elected by the General Assembly. The Executive Committee meets three times a year. Day-to-day management of the Society is carried out by the Executive Board consisting of the President, the President-Elect, the Vice-President and the Secretary-Treasurer. Day-to-day administration is implemented by the Central ESGAR Office established in 1999 in Vienna.

Download the ESGAR By-Laws


History

The subspecialty of gastrointestinal and abdominal radiology has been recognised for many years. In 1988, at the British Institute of Radiology Meeting in Glasgow, the founding of a European Society as an equivalent to the American Society of Gastrointestinal Radiologists was discussed to create a forum for the large number of radiologists in Europe working in this sub-specialty. In 1989, a founding meeting was held in Paris which laid down the essential rules and objectives of the Society and elected the first Officers of the Society under the presidency of Daniel Nolan. At the time of its foundation the Society was named "The European Society of Gastrointestinal Radiologists". The first meeting took place under the meeting presidency of Nicholas Gourtsoyiannis in Crete in 1990. The constitution was debated and approved at the Annual Meeting in Oxford in 1991. As the Society grew and developed, it became clear that its organisation needed to be strengthened. Thus a working group met in Paris in 1994 to produce draft by-laws aimed particularly at improving continuity. The new by-laws were adopted by the General Assembly in Taormina in 1994. In recognition of the role of the Society in all modalities of imaging of the gastrointestinal tract and its associated abdominal organs, the name of the Society was changed to "The European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology" at the same meeting. In the following year, "European Radiology" was adopted as the official journal of the Society at the meeting in Brussels. Over the past years, the Society has progressively increased its number of members, which has risen to over 2.000 members from all over the world in 2023. To attract young members, a “YOUNG ESGAR” group was formed in 2019.

Founding Members

C. Bartram (UK)
D.E. Beckly (UK)
J.-M. Bigot (FR)
L. Engelholm (BE)
F.T. Fork (SE)
W. Frik (DE) †
R.A. Frost (UK)
N. Gourtsoyiannis (GR)
J. Keleki-Papantonakou (GR) †

A. Kruse (DK) †
E. Lambrakos (GR) †
D.J. Lintott (UK) †
D.F. Martin (UK)
D. Mathieu (FR)
D.J. Nolan (UK) †
P. Peetrons (BE)
J. Pringot (BE)
P. Rossi (IT)

ESGAR Presidents

1990 - 1992: D.J. Nolan (UK)
1992 - 1993: J.-M. Bigot (FR)
1993 - 1994: A. Kruse (DK) †
1994 - 1997: P. Rossi (IT)
1997 - 2000: N. Gourtsoyiannis (GR)
2000 - 2003: R.A. Frost (UK)
2003 - 2005: R.F. Dondelinger (BE)
2005 - 2007: C. Bartolozzi (IT)
2007 - 2009: B. Marincek (CH)

2009 - 2011: Y. Menu (FR)
2011 - 2013: F. Caseiro-Alves (PT)
2013 - 2015: L. Martí-Bonmatí (ES)
2015 - 2017: C. Matos (PT)
2017 - 2019: S. Halligan (UK)
2019 - 2021: R.G.H. Beets-Tan (NL)
2021 - 2023: A. Laghi (IT)
2023 – 2025: M. Zins (FR)