Dear colleagues,

It is an honour and a pleasure to invite you to participate in the 14th International Symposium on Radionuclides in Nephrourology organized 10-15 May 2010 in Mikulov, South Moravia, Czech Republic. Mikulov is a pleasant town located 250 km south-east of Prague and 80 km north of Vienna, Austria.

The symposium is one of many regular scientific meetings that were started in the 1960s but it is only one of a few that have survived to the present. The meeting is organized as triennial conference by the International Scientific Committee on Radionuclide Nephrourology (ISCORN) whose activities also include publication of procedure guidelines and consensus reports on various subjects related to the problems in nuclear nephrology and urology. The long tradition and rich history of the committee and the symposia in which many distinguished physicians and scientists have participated, have been described in detail recently by one of the group founders and gurus, prof. M. Donald Blaufox [Seminars in Nuclear Medicine 2008;38(1):2-8]. More information about the group can also be found on its website (www.iscorn.org).

The venue chosen for 2010 symposium is one of the most picturesque towns near the Czech-Austrian border, reflecting a long-lasting multi-cultural history and wine production traditions in the area. The place is easily accessible from the international airports in Vienna (1 hour by bus provided by the symposium organizers) and in Prague (3 hours by direct super city train to the Czech-Austrian border station Breclav followed by half an hour by bus provided by the organizers). Mikulov also can be easily reached by car from the same destinations and other places in the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland.

Radionuclide Nephrourology is among the first applications of radionuclides in human nuclear medicine. After half a century, it remains an important tool for diagnostic examinations in nephrology and urology, especially in children in whom it offers a relatively low radiation dose, low cost, and accurate measurement of plasma clearance and split renal function. Currently, new radiopharmaceuticals, both single-photon and positron emitters are being developed, quantification and accuracy of measurement of traditional as well as new diagnostic parameters are continuously improving and being clinically validated. Although the field may appear not to be in the current nuclear medicine mainstream of hybrid imaging in oncology, cardiology, and neurology, in fact it is approaching hybrid status quickly. This will be demonstrated by several state-of-the-art lectures on radiological and molecular imaging of the kidney during the symposium.

Since its first conception, well before other radionuclide methods and long before applications in radiology, renal nuclear medicine utilized computer image processing and physiological modelling. In spite of that, commercial software available for analysis of renal studies does not always provide clinical users with full spectrum of the best methods. A significant part of the symposium program is therefore dedicated to renal analysis software that will be discussed with respect to current clinical needs. Recent examples of non-commercial software potentially filling the gap on the market will be demonstrated.

In order to emphasize not only scientific but also post-graduate educational aims, the 14th International Symposium is organized as joint meeting combining its scientific program with the IAEA postgraduate Regional Training Course on Radionuclides in Nephrourology. The course will begin on the first day. The rest of the course and the symposium programs overlap.

A local organizing committee will do its best to make your visit to Mikulov comfortable and friendly in order to help you enjoy the scientific program, informal discussions, postgraduate educational and social activities, and also to become acquainted with the regional history, folklore and traditions. Among the famous people who were native to this area are the scientists Johann Gregor Mendel, Sigmund Freud and Kurt Goedel, composers Bohuslav Martinu and Leos Janacek, businessman Tomas Bata and the dramatist Tom Stoppard.

Martin Samal
on behalf of ISCORN and local organizing committee