OUR VISION FOR INNOVATIVE LEARNING

• Customized Education Meeting Learning Needs
• Programming Formatted to Learning Styles
• Scheduling Simplified for Learner Satisfaction
• All-in-One Location for Maximum Convenience

Together, ACC.08 and SCAI-ACCi2 2008 embody the College’s vision of building meetings with innovative solutions that assist the faculty to teach and audiences to learn.

WHAT’S NEW—WHAT’S HOT—WHAT’S SPECIAL THIS YEAR

Expanded Abstract Presentation Formats

Both ACC.08 and SCAI-ACCi2 2008 will provide outstanding science using innovative educational approaches that take full advantage of technology and the broad spectrum of expertise available. ACC.08 will feature classic oral abstract sessions and traditional flat poster abstract sessions showcasing exciting new developments in cardiovascular science and education. Again this year, we are pleased to present e-posters and moderated e-poster abstracts using plasma screens a new abstract presentation formats to further cardiovascular knowledge exchange. Look for these new abstract formats in the poster session area in the South Hall at McCormick Place.

Heart Hubs

Again this year, enjoy scientific and clinical content in a relaxed atmosphere at our innovative Heart Hubs in three locations, including one in the session lobby area of SCAI-ACCi2. Sessions will be broadcast via plasma screens at each Hub, offering you the chance to network, multitask, or even just relax with a drink and a snack while absorbing meeting content. Beverages and snacks are available for purchase.

Keep Up-To-Date with CVN-TV

Our comprehensive video coverage of ACC.08 and SCAI-ACCi2 2008 will run throughout the Convention Center on flat panel monitors. ACC member anchors will recap important news and breaking science and preview exciting events to come.

Invited Faculty Amenities—Faculty Hub
Telephone: (312) 791-6750

• Saturday, March 29     7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
• Sunday, March 30       7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
• Monday, March 31      7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 1          7:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Other Meeting Innovations

Each year, ACC continues to expand and improve its slate of educational innovations and technological learning solutions. Innovations being introduced or continued at this year’s meetings include:

• "You-Que" at ACC.08: an online video streaming feature for uploading self-made videocasts of attendee questions (piloting during Session 628)
• "Best Poster" Competition and Awards: posters will be graded by a panel of experts in each of the topic areas in a competition to identify an overall "best poster of the year"
• Expanded Live Cases: groundbreaking like cases and commentary led by masters in cardiovascular medicine
• Heart Songs: an opportunity for meeting attendees to sharpen their skills in cardiac auscultation using iPOD technology and computer-based learning
• 360° Education: educational sessions presented in a "theatre-in-the-round" format
• Knowledge Exchange Center: hands-on simulated learning opportunities in the new Knowledge Exchange Center on the expo floor

GENERAL INFORMATION FOR PRESENTERS

PRESENTER REGISTRATION 

You must register for the meeting in order to obtain a meeting badge. Registration fees are waived for all ACC.08 and SCAI-ACCi2 structured session faculty and late-breaking clinical trial presenters; abstract presenters only will be charged a $75 meeting registration fee. Accepting your speaker invitation and completing the Presenters Agreement via the online notification system does not register you for the meeting. 

If you are speaking at both meetings, you must be registered for both, otherwise, access may be questioned onsite if you do not have the proper badge. If you have not already registered, please contact J. Spargo & Associates, the ACC official registration and housing bureau at (800) 699-5113 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST, Monday – Friday (closed on federal holidays). Outside the United States and Canada, call (703) 449-6418. If you have registered and paid a fee, please request a refund in writing, attention Meeting Services Department, fax (202) 375-6843. You must reserve a hotel room if you require overnight lodging. 

The College does not reimburse for hotel, travel, or per diem expenses.

ADVANCE ONLINE SUBMISSION OF PRESENTATIONS

ACC is committed to providing the audience and faculty the best education environment possible. Most meeting rooms will have dedicated presentation computers and will be networked to a central computer. Presentations will be downloaded from the central server and sent to the respective meeting room on a secured intranet circuit. Presenters will be expected to submit their presentation in advance or bring it on zip disk, USB drive, or CD-ROM to the Speaker Ready Room. In the Speaker Ready Room presenters will have the opportunity to review, update, or make changes on computers and then give approval for the presentation to be uploaded to the appropriate meeting room.

The ACC.08/SCAI-ACCi2 Presentation Submission Website opens Feb. 6, 2008. This audiovisual presentation website will remain open throughout the meeting for your convenience. This means that you will be able to submit your presentation through the website, accessible from any internet connection with sufficient bandwidth, up to 24 hours in advance of your presentation time. After this time, you must go to the Speaker Ready Room. 

Click here to access the website. Include all embedded video files for presentations that will contain video clips. 

You may return to the website anytime before the 24-hr deadline to delete a file that you have already submitted and re-submit a new file in the event that you’ve made changes to a presentation. For security and proprietary reasons, you cannot edit a file online.     

SPEAKER-READY ROOM 

There wil be one speaker ready room at the convention center to assist all presenters for both ACC.08 and SCAI-ACCi2. The Speaker Ready Room will be located in McCormick Place North Hall. Presenters may go to the Speaker Ready Room to review and approve their presentations—your meeting badge will gain you entrance to the room.

All Speaker Ready Room computers will be configured with hardware and software exactly like that available on the computers in the presentation rooms. This will allow you to preview your presentation just as it will project when you present, identify problems, and make corrections as necessary prior to your scheduled presentation date and time. Professional audiovisual consultants will be available for assistance.

IMPORTANT!!  CHECK-IN IS EXPECTED OF ALL PRESENTERS!

Help us help you! Plan to check-in the day before or no later than four hours before your presentation time. Presenters who do not check-in sufficiently in advance of their presentation may give the scheduled talk, but may not have visuals. Speakers who have submitted their presentations in advance via the online Website are advised to visit the Speaker Ready Room to check the compatibility of their files. 

SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT DVDs: If you plan to play a DVD as part of your presentation, please be sure to test the DVD for compatibility in the Speaker Ready Room.

The following ACC activities are NOT networked: All committee meetings and special functions; and sessions/activities held outside of the McCormick Place Convention Complex. Participants in these activities should contact the ACC staff liaison if audiovisual is required.

Poster presenters may store their materials in the Speaker Ready Room.

Please note the hours of operation listed below.

SPEAKER READY ROOM TELEPHONE: (312) 791-6727

HOURS OF OPERATION (Located in North Hall):

• Friday, March 28         Noon – 6:00 p.m.
• Saturday, March 29     6:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
• Sunday, March 30       6:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
• Monday, March 31       6:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 1          6:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

AUDIOVISUAL EQUIPMENT IN PRESENTATION ROOMS   

Education session rooms will be furnished with the following audiovisual resources. See qualifying notes below if you are a Mac user OR you are presenting a lunch session at either meeting.

• Screen; data projector; laser pointer; audio and computer/visual technicians
  • Custom designed Optiplex minitower, Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz PC
  • 2GB DDR RAM
  • 160GB SATA HDD
  • Internal 10/100 Network Interface Card
  • 16x DVD+/-RW
  • 3.5 inch floppy
  • GeForce FX 5200 256MB PCI Graphics Card
  • Dual Mouse Control (One for the podium, one for the meeting room computer technician)
  • Windows Enhanced Keyboard
  • 17” flat panel LCD (OSTL) 1280x1024
  • Windows XP operating system
  • Office 2003 (which includes PowerPoint XP, Word, and Excel)
  • Windows Media Player version 9
  • Macromedia Flash Player 9
  • Macromedia Shockwave Player 10
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader version 8.0
• In addition to the standard Codec Packs, the following Codec Packs for video playback will also be installed:
  • Cinepak
  • DIVX - recommended
  • XVID
  • Intel Indeo Video R3.2
  • Indeo 5.10
  • Intel RAW
  • Mpeg 4
• Dazzle software upon request

Any equipment not listed above must be requested in advance. Please contact John Powell (jpowell@acc.org). Requests for nonstandard equipment will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and the designated presenter may be contacted about the request. Dual slide projection is not available.

ATTENTION LUNCH PANEL SESSION PRESENTERS:

New this year! All brown-bag lunch panels and lunch 'n' learn rooms for both meetings will have AV equipment as listed above.

ATTENTION MAC USERS:

If you are producing your presentation on an Apple computer, you MUST check-in at the Speaker Ready Room to verify that your presentation will run properly on the networked computers. If you have custom software programs required for your presentation, ACC will provide computer inputs in the meeting rooms to accommodate your laptop. Most problems with speakers using their own laptops are because the laptops are not checked for compatibility before the presentation. Be sure to check out your laptop in the Speaker Ready Room first!

AUDIOVISUAL QUESTIONS:

If you have specific questions regarding audiovisual equipment or computer presentations, you may contact the ACC audiovisual staff in advance by email:  John Powell (jpowell@acc.org).

ACC.08 SESSION RECORDINGS
McCormick Center, Lakeside, Level 3 (354A)

• Saturday, March 29     7:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
• Sunday, March 30       7:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
• Monday, March 31       7:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 1          7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

All ACC.08 sessions, including oral abstract sessions, will be recorded and sold in many audio and visual formats. Available recording formats include Audio CD, MP3, and New this year: downloadable PDFs of presentation slides. 

Presentation Tips for Recording:

• Before you begin speaking, adjust the microphone, if needed.
• Speak into the microphone at all times. Avoid being too close to the microphone or “cupping” the microphone with your arm, which may cause feedback noise.
• When you refer to a visual, briefly describe it.

Presentation Language is English:

All presentations are entirely in English. If you need assistance in understanding or answering questions in English, please arrange to have the session co-chair or a member of your research team assist you. It is your responsibility to notify the session co-chairs of your special needs and arrangements before the first abstract in the session. You may include in your presentation file a few slides containing text or data for answering questions that might reasonably be expected from the audience. These slides should not include concepts or data integral to the main presentation.

FIELDING AUDIENCE QUESTIONS

A vital part of each educational session is the built-in opportunity for questions and discussion. Time has purposely been built into sessions to allow this type of interaction between the presenter and others in the room. Questions may come from the audience or from your session chair or co-chair. Remember that question-and-answer discussions are also captured. To avoid gaps on the audio recording of your presentation, be sure to repeat the question posed into your microphone prior to answering it.

DISTRIBUTING MATERIALS AT SESSIONS

Distribution of materials is not allowed in or outside the session rooms without prior permission. 

PRESENTING ORAL CONTRIBUTIONS OR CLINICAL TRIAL RESULTS

If you will present an original contribution or clinical trial results, please a copy of the manuscript or outline for arrival no later than March 10, 2008 to:

Amy Murphy
Media Relations
American College of Cardiology
2400 N. Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20037
amurphy@acc.org (please put “manuscript” in the subject line)

If you have questions, please call (202) 375-6476.

Copies of your material will be made available to trade and consumer media representatives to assist with their reporting of presented research. If your presentation includes material from another contributor, then he or she must be acknowledged.

By supplying the manuscript or outline, you agree that the ACC may disseminate the materials to the media and to the public. In many instances, the ACC will disseminate the materials and/or a news release in advance of the meeting. All material is embargoed until time of presentation or press conference at the meeting. The ACC will request that representatives of the media not publish the information until after it has been presented.

IF YOU WANT YOUR INFORMATION HELD UNTIL PRESENTATION:

Upon your request, the ACC will hold manuscripts or outlines until the time of your presentation. To make such a request, your manuscript or outline must be clearly labeled on the front page as follows:

“PRESENTER REQUESTS DISSEMINATION AT OR AFTER [SPECIFY TIME AND DATE OF YOUR PRESENTATION]”

PREPARING AND PRESENTING POSTERS

This year, poster abstracts may be presented as either traditional flat board posters with an accompanying e-poster summary slide, or moderated e-poster abstracts using plasma screens. Separate instructions will be sent regarding uploading and submitting information for the e-poster abstract system. You have already been sent your schedule information if you are presenting a moderated e-poster abstract using a plasma screen.

Poster Session Dates and Times

Poster sessions take place in the South Hall. Poster session times this year are:

• Sunday, March 30     9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
• Monday, March 31     9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 1        9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Note that all posters should be mounted no later than 30 minutes prior to the start of the session time.

Preparing and Presenting Traditional Flat Board Posters with an Accompanying E-Poster Summary Slide

• Poster-board size is eight fee long (243 cm) by four feet high (121 cm)
• Prepare a copy of your poster abstract in large type
• Prepare a copy of your Disclosure of Faculty Relationships information
• Prepare a sheet or lightweight poster board with the presentation title and author(s) identification in lettering that is at least one inch high
• Prepare all illustrations, charts, tables, and drawings in advance. Keep them simple and clear, with heavy lines and effective use of color. They must be readable at least three feet away.

When you arrive for your session:

1. Place the title card at the top of the board
2. Post your abstract in the upper left corner
3. Post your disclosure information to the right of the abstract.
4. Mount visual material on the board using the Velcro fasteners or pins available in the poster area.

Two 3.5 hour poster viewing sessions will be held each day on Sunday and Monday, and one 3.5 hour session will be held on Tuesday, to maximize audience viewing opportunity. Presentations must be mounted by the start time of your assigned session and removed within 30 minutes after the session. An attendant will be available to provide information, assistance, and supplies. No audiovisual, projection, or computer equipment requiring electrical power will be permitted in the traditional poster session area.

Your confirmation information lists the 60-minute presentation time period when you must be present at your poster board.

For preparing the accompanying e-poster summary slide — this year, all traditional flat board poster presenters are requested to also prepare a single summary slide in Microsoft PowerPoint format. This slide will be uploaded to an e-poster system. An e-poster is an electronic format for 24/7 exposure via self-directed e-learning from any laptop or other computer with Internet access. 

Separate instructions on formatting the e-poster summary slide, accessing the e-poster system, and uploading the summary slide will be sent in a separate communication.

Preparing and Presenting Moderated E-Poster Abstracts Using a Plasma Screen

All accepted poster abstracts in the topic area of Imaging and Diagnostic Testing for ACC.08 and select abstracts in the SCAI-ACCi2 meeting will be presented as moderated e-posters using a plasma screen. Separate notifications were sent out in December to those individuals who will be presenting in special e-poster format. Poster abstracts in all other non-interventional topic areas are presented as traditional flat board posters with an accompanying e-poster summary slide (see above explanation).

E-poster abstracts to be presented via plasma screen are submitted via an online multimedia delivery system that offers a wide choice of display enhancements, including the viewing of digital medical imagery such as photos, movies, and PowerPoint slides. E-posters also offer the ability for viewers to interact with the “online presenter” via submitting an email, thereby increasing viewer engagement and interactivity with the system. Special instructions for accessing the online e-poster abstract submission system will be sent out in a separate communication.

If your abstract has been selected for an e-abstract presentation by plasma format, keep in mind that the success of this poster format depends on your innovation. Please take some time to familiarize yourself with the system and to think about how your information will be presented. Then plan out your multimedia elements so that you have an organized, powerful, and exciting presentation.

When you arrive at the meeting, a row of plasma screens will be located in the poster session area for scheduled, moderated e-poster presentations. Moderated e-poster presenters are required to be present in front of a plasma screen for one 60-minute time period during the meeting to present their e-poster.

An e-poster plasma screen presentation system identical to those in the poster session area will be located in the Speaker Ready Room. E-poster presenters are encouraged to visit the Speaker Ready Room to practice accessing and presenting their e-poster prior to their scheduled presentation time.

Your confirmation will list the 60-minute presentation time period when you must be present at your assigned e-poster plasma.
 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR CHAIRS AND CO-CHAIRS

Chairs and co-chairs play an essential role in keeping educational sessions flowing smoothly and on schedule. Carefully read the following tips and guidelines for chairing sessions.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

• Communicate with your panelists five to six weeks in advance of the meeting to review the major points of their talks and alleviate any overlapping presentation materials with other speakers in the session
• Stop by the Speaker Ready Room at the convention center to learn how to use audiovisual equipment that you will have available in the session room
• Review the Final Program to reconfirm the day, time and location of the program you are chairing
• Report to the meeting room earlier than the scheduled start time so you can check arrangements
• Meet the ACC staff assigned to your room. Staff with liaise with you regarding session information/material and audiovisual inquiries, assist you with logistical needs and monitor attendance
• Prompt for and monitor disclosure compliance from faculty/presenters in the session
• Verify with presenters the accuracy of the information you plan to use in their brief introductions
• Ask presenters for whom English is a second language if they need assistance with questions from the audience. If no translator is available, you may need to repeat the question slowly or rephrase it for the presenter
• IMPORTANT: if you session has time allotted for Q and A you should be prepared to lead a lively question and answer period

CHAIRING ORAL PRESENTATIONS OR ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS

For each presentation, announce the abstract title, names of the presenter and other investigators, the institution(s), and the city and state/country where the research was performed. Session room staff will give you this information before the start of the session. If a presenter fails to appear, take a 15-minute break so the session stays on schedule with the printed Final Program.

FIRE SAFETY INFORMATION

Seating capacity has been maximized in all session rooms according to local fire regulations. Standing in the aisles or against the walls is not permitted. If overcrowding occurs, staff/security personnel will close the session. Further admittance will not be allowed until the next speaker change. Noncompliance may subject the session to shutdown by the Fire Marshal.

Inside the session room, you can assist staff by urging attendees to:

• Find seats as far forward as possible
• Move to the center of the row and fill all seats so chairs are available for additional attendees
• Store materials under chairs to maximize seating
• Take all personal effects when exiting. Reentry to an overcrowded session room may not be allowed.

Outside the session room, staff will ask attendees to: