RSNA Press Release

98th SCIENTIFIC ASSEMBLY AND ANNUAL MEETING,
RADIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA

Sunday, November 25 – Friday, November 30, 2012,
McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois

MEETING FACTS
(as of 10/24/12, some numbers subject to change)

The Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA®) is the world's premier scientific and educational forum in radiology.

Facts about the meeting include:

• Six days of educational programs for radiologists, radiation oncologists, physicists in medicine, radiologic technologists and allied health care professionals;
• Professional registration is on par with same week registration in 2011;
• For RSNA 2012, the Society has secured more than 120,000 room nights at 80 downtown Chicago hotels;
• 632 technical exhibits will occupy 445,800 square feet;
• 77 of the exhibitors are first-time exhibitors at RSNA;
• Attendees will contribute over $130 million to Chicago's economy;
• 1,863 scientific papers in 16 subspecialties: breast; cardiac; chest; emergency radiology; gastrointestinal; genitourinary; health services, policy and research; informatics; molecular imaging; musculoskeletal; neuroradiology; nuclear medicine; pediatric; physics; radiation oncology and radiobiology; and vascular and interventional;
• 235 refresher courses, 86 multisessions, 40 series courses and 45 informatics courses;
• 2,111 education exhibits and 1,257 scientific posters will be featured in the Lakeside Learning Center.

GREEN FACTS

RSNA is committed to hosting one of the greenest and cleanest meetings in the industry.

Meeting Materials Recycling and Conservation

• McCormick Place offers recycling receptacles throughout the convention center for paper, bottles, cans and general waste.
• RSNA offers specially marked recycling receptacles at McCormick Place for unwanted meeting bags, programs, lanyards and badges, and donates unused meeting bags to a local charity.
• RSNA offers an expansive section of electronic documentation for its annual meeting and provides QR codes, apps and mobile-optimized tools as an alternative to printed materials.

Energy Conservation

• McCormick Place minimizes energy by reducing lights, power, escalators and HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) during move-in/move-out in the exhibit halls and meeting rooms when not in use and uses compact fluorescent lights throughout the convention center in place of incandescent lamps.
• To lower reliance on non-renewable, pollution-producing fossil fuels, McCormick Place purchases 10 percent of annual electricity needs from renewable sources.

Food & Beverage Service

• Discounts on coffee and fountain beverages are available at most McCormick Place food outlets for those using refillable coffee mugs or beverage bottles.
• Savor Catering Service uses biodegradable flatware, straws, serving dishes and cups in the food courts, offers reusable china or biodegradable plates, straws, cups and cutlery for catering functions and donates all excess food to a local food bank. During RSNA 2011, over 2,100 pounds of food was donated.
• Food selection sourcing, method and preparation and seasonality are taken into consideration when designing menus for both catering and restaurant operation – 100 percent of seafood purchased meets the Marine Stewardship Council sourcing guidelines, fresh herbs and vegetables are grown seasonally on the West Building's Roof Top Garden (herbs are dehydrated and utilized in year round cooking production), and 100 percent of used cooking grease is converted to Bio-fuel.
• Recycling and compost initiatives have been expanded to include post-consumer locations with sorting, recycling and composting efforts in the South Food Court during RSNA.

Transportation

• RSNA offers complimentary Metra train and RSNA shuttle transportation during the meeting.
• McCormick Place reserves a percentage of parking for low-emitting and fuel efficient vehicles.