Planning Your RSNA 2020 Poster Hall Experience
The RSNA 2020 Annual Meeting was scheduled for 29 November through 4 December 2020, bringing together radiologists, researchers, technologists, educators, and industry professionals. Although the event was originally associated with Chicago’s McCormick Place, the 2020 meeting moved to a fully digital format because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That change transformed the traditional poster hall into an online scientific exhibition. Attendees could not walk between printed displays or discuss findings beside a physical board, but they could still review research, identify emerging themes, and connect their poster visits with live education and professional networking.
A successful virtual poster strategy required the same habits as an in-person conference: define priorities, manage time, and record useful follow-up information. A little preparation made it easier to navigate a large programme without missing the studies most relevant to clinical practice or research.
Understand The Digital Poster Format
The online poster hall contained electronic scientific presentations that could be explored through the meeting platform. Depending on the presentation, materials could include an abstract, full poster, figures, tables, recorded narration, or additional discussion features. The exact experience varied by presentation type and author participation.
Instead of planning a route through exhibition aisles, attendees needed to plan a searchable viewing schedule. Using keywords related to modality, anatomy, disease, artificial intelligence, workflow, or imaging biomarkers helped narrow the field. Search results could then be grouped into themes rather than viewed in the order presented by the platform.
Set Clear Research Priorities
Begin with three or four questions you wanted the meeting to answer. For example, a neuroradiologist might focus on stroke imaging and machine learning, while a department manager might concentrate on workflow automation, structured reporting, or dose reduction. These priorities provided a practical filter when the number of available digital posters became overwhelming.
It also helped to separate must-see posters from useful background material. Save the highest-priority presentations for dedicated viewing sessions, then use shorter gaps to scan related abstracts. First-time participants could also review these attendee planning tips before building a personal schedule around the scientific assembly.
Coordinate Poster Viewing With Live Sessions
The poster hall should have complemented the wider RSNA programme rather than competing with it. Compare poster topics with scientific sessions, plenary talks, case-based education, and demonstrations scheduled for the same day. A presentation on the same subject might provide essential context, explain a technique in greater depth, or offer a useful counterpoint.
Avoid filling every available minute. Digital conferences created a risk of screen fatigue, especially when attendees moved directly from lectures to posters and then to meetings. Short breaks made it easier to assess methods critically, note unanswered questions, and return to complex figures with fresh attention.
| Planning Task | Practical Approach | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Select subjects | Choose a few clinical or research themes | Keeps searching focused |
| Prioritize posters | Mark essential, relevant, and optional items | Prevents an overloaded schedule |
| Review methods | Note cohort size, imaging protocol, and analysis method | Supports critical evaluation |
| Record contacts | Save author names and presentation details | Simplifies later follow-up |
| Protect breaks | Leave space between online sessions | Reduces fatigue and improves retention |
Read Posters Critically
A visually attractive poster was not automatically a strong study. Check the research question, patient population, inclusion criteria, reference standard, statistical approach, and limitations. Diagnostic imaging studies deserved particular attention to reader experience, validation cohorts, sensitivity, specificity, and whether the findings could transfer to another institution.
For artificial intelligence presentations, look for information about training data, external validation, annotation quality, model performance, and workflow impact. A high area under the curve may be impressive, but it does not by itself show that a tool improves patient care. Keep a short note beside each important poster so that promising claims can be compared after the meeting.
Make Accommodation Plans Around The Original Event
Before the format changed, many RSNA 2020 participants would have coordinated hotel rooms near the Chicago venue, often through individual bookings or group room blocks. Teams and delegations benefited from assigning one person to manage arrival dates, room requirements, payment arrangements, and cancellation terms.
Hotel category also affected the overall meeting budget. Reviewing guidance on choosing a hotel category could help groups distinguish between the convenience of a higher-service property and the savings available at a well-located 3-star or 4-star hotel. Although the virtual format removed the need for travel accommodation, this planning framework remained useful for future in-person congresses.
Prepare A Practical Viewing Checklist
Create a simple worksheet before opening the digital poster hall. Include the presentation title, authors, institution, research question, main result, limitations, and any action that deserves follow-up. A consistent format made it easier to compare studies and share useful findings with colleagues after the meeting.
Keep your browser, meeting login, calendar, and note-taking tool ready before the first session. Test audio if a poster included narration, check how saved presentations could be revisited, and use descriptive file names for downloaded material. If several colleagues attended, divide subject areas and arrange a short debrief so the group did not duplicate effort.
- Reserve focused blocks for high-priority poster topics.
- Use keywords and author names to refine digital searches.
- Record methods and limitations, not just headline results.
- Save relevant presentations for later team discussion.
- Schedule breaks between poster reviews and live education.
The most valuable poster visits often led to a practical next step: contacting an author, testing a workflow idea, comparing a method with local data, or identifying a subject for further study. Treat the digital hall as a research resource rather than a passive gallery, and its content could remain useful long after the meeting dates had passed.
Review the RSNA 2020 scientific programme, organize your priority topics, and build a focused poster-viewing schedule that turns online research into actionable knowledge.