Dear colleagues,

It is our pleasure to invite you to the 8th Interventional MRI Symposium, organized by the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology at the University of Leipzig, Germany, in cooperation with the Department of Radiology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, and the Department of Radiology and Radiological Science at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The meeting is endorsed by the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) and the  European Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine and Biology (ESMRMB).

Following our call for abstracts we have received numerous submissions for oral and poster presentations covering a wide range of interventional MR topics. After a peer review process by the scientific program committee, we have constructed a balanced program of 62 oral and 58 poster presentations.

The city of Leipzig has a rich heritage in music and the performing arts. Names like Johann Sebastian Bach and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy are inseparably linked to the city. The new Gewandhaus Concert Hall is home to the famous Gewandhaus Orchestra which is known for its excellence in classical music performance and currently conducted by Maestro Riccardo Chailly, the 19th “Gewandhauskapellmeister” since 1781. The Thomanerchor, the Boys Choir of St. Thomas’s Church, emerged over 800 years ago from church services organized by the Augustinian Canons. Its most famous choirmaster from 1723 to 1750 was Bach himself. With a history of more than 300 years, the Leipzig Opera features ballet and opera performances on an international level.

Leipzig is also linked to early developments in the field of nuclear magnetic resonance. After graduation, Felix Bloch continued his physics studies at the University of Leipzig and finished his doctoral thesis under the advice of Werner Heisenberg. Only last year, the University celebrated its 600th anniversary. We are looking forward to seeing you in Leipzig!