Greeting

With increasing concerns over the continued spread of COVID-19, the 28th Annual Meeting of Japanese Society of CT Screening will be held on February 21st, 2021 as Virtual Meeting. I would like to thank the members and academic officers and everyone involved for giving me this opportunity.

The venue for this tournament has changed from Okinawa Prefecture to a virtual conference room Generally, it is held around the president's facility or in a large city. However, it is important for the academic society to actively and proactively visit various parts of the country in order to make more people aware of the research results related to high-precision CT screening and cooperation with related research fields. Therefore, I chose Okinawa, which is the southernmost tip of Japan.
However, the unexpected situation of COVID-19 has occurred. We received various opinions, but we gave top priority to safe holding and changed from local holding to virtual meeting. In holding this event, including Japanese College of Radiology in Okinawa, Accreditation Council for Lung Cancer CT Screening, Japanese Society of Radiological Technology in Kyushu, Okinawa Association of Radiological Technologist, Okinawa CT Study Group, Kiyoko Goto and Paul Bourdarie Cancer Foundation, etc. We have receiving a lot of support.

Introducing our society.
It was launched in 1994 as the “Chest CT Screening Study Group”, and since 2006 the organization has been revised as the “Japanese Society of CT Screening (JSCTS)”, this time holding the 28th academic meeting. Initially, CT screening was mainly applied to the chest area. It began with the evaluation of the effectiveness and usefulness of CT screening, and a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system based on features obtained by texture analysis was discussed. At the 20th academic meeting (Akihabara, 2013), when my mentor, Dr. Kozo Hanai, was the president of the meeting, a new screening method for colorectal cancer, "CT Colonography (CTC)" was taken up. The handling area has expanded greatly.

What is the situation surrounding the Society?
Low-dose lung cancer CT screening has shown mortality-reducing effects in two randomized controlled trials (RCTs). In parallel with the RCT (JECS Study) for non / light smokers, there is a need to identify an acceptable and cost-effective target population. Last year, with the development of artificial intelligence (AI) utilizing big data and deep learning, diagnostic support software was approved as a "managed medical device" based on the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act, and will continue to be approved. Will be.
Human resource development and standardization of facility implementation systems are progressing so that high-precision CT screening can be conducted throughout Japan. In 2009, the Accreditation Council for Lung Cancer CT Screening was established, and the total number of certified physicians and certified technologists has exceeded 3,000. A facility certification system has also begun in 2018, and currently about 50 facilities have been certified. In addition, from this year, the Accreditation Council for CTC technologists will be launched.

The theme of this meeting is "Aim Higher".
Extending the path that great ancestors have followed, and creating new ones, is everywhere.

At this meeting, we are preparing various plans while considering the current status of CT screening.
Overseas invited lectures include Dr. Denise R. Aberle, MD (UCLA), a senior researcher at ACRIN-NLST (American College of Radiology Imaging Network component of the National Lung Screening Trial), Dr. Michael McNitt-Gray, PhD (UCLA), who will be presenting as a representative of the medical physics field, at a hearing for CT screening for lung cancer held by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) is scheduled.

Special lectures and symposiums related to AI from a broad perspective, presentations on general research are planning. In addition, on February 21, a public lecture will be held on the key words of "screening, genomics, and AI."

This meeting is a very exciting academic meeting with a sense of excitement.
My ally, the Executive Committee Chairman Isao Yamaguchi, PhD (Morinomiya University of Medical Sciences), the Executive Committee members, the Program Committee members are looking forward to your viewing in a thorough manner.

Even if the venue changes, it is still
"Men sore! (Welcome)"