Spare a thought for Dr. Gerhard Mostbeck on the final Sunday of this month: Not only will he have a full day chairing a major medical congress, but also he will lead an enthusiastic pack of joggers on a prebreakfast 6-km run around his home city.
The Austria Center has staged the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) since 1991, and will be the venue for the World Congress of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology at the end of August.
Mostbeck is head of the organizing committee for the 13th World Congress of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, to be held in Vienna from 26 to 29 August. He plans to join other delegates on the Sono-Run, which starts at 7 a.m. on the sidewalk around the famous Ring.
"I used to run marathons, so I'd like to take part, and I've been back in training recently!" he said. "This will be a great way to see the city and start the day. It's a tradition at the Ultrasound Dreiländertreffen, and is being organized this year by Dr. Josef Deutinger from Vienna."
More than 2,000 delegates from 64 countries, including 350 invited lecturers, are expected at the congress, which is the joint meeting of the 13th World Congress of the World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB), the 23rd Congress of the European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (EFSUMB), and the 35th Joint Meeting of the Austrian (öGUM), German (DEGUM), and Swiss (SGUM) Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine.
"I'm very positive about the future of ultrasound. Systems are becoming smaller and smaller and more portable, and it is fast becoming the front-line imaging modality," noted Mostbeck, who is chief of radiology at Vienna's Wilhelminen and Otto Wagner Hospitals. "It is important for radiologists to update their knowledge of research. We shouldn't forget about ultrasound."
A personal highlight for him will be Sunday's session about liver contrast guidelines, including discussion of the cirrhotic liver, intraoperative procedures, characterization of portal vein thrombosis, treatment monitoring, and liver transplantation. The new generation of contrast media is showing promise, but they must prove their cost-effectiveness if there is going to be more widespread reimbursement across Europe, he explained. A second guidelines session, looking at nonhepatic applications, will take place on Monday.
Mostbeck also thinks the 100 live-scanning workshops will prove to be popular and of great educational value.
Dr. Christian P. Nolsøe from Copenhagen (left) and Dr. Michel Claudon from Nancy, France (center) are joint presidents of the world congress in Vienna, along with Dr. Gerhard Mostbeck (right).The first WFUMB meeting took place in Vienna in June 1969, and to celebrate the congress' return to the Austrian capital, a special historical session, "How everything started: We meet our pioneers," will be held on Saturday morning, from 8:30 a.m. to noon.
Over the four days, there will be a total of 11 categorical courses, 90 refresher courses, 37 scientific sessions, and 300 poster presentations, as well as a mix of English and German sessions. Special themes will include tumor assessment with contrast-enhanced ultrasound, sports imaging, subharmonic imaging, new technology in elastography, and recent developments in breast ultrasound. Presentations on emergency ultrasound, breast ultrasound, new techniques, pediatric ultrasound, musculoskeletal ultrasound, and ultrasound in oncology and the GI tract will be delivered in English. Hands-on learning will be given, including the use of modern ultrasound simulators.
In addition to the opening concert in the Austria Center, there will be an open-air wine festival in Gumpoldskirchen, a small village to the south of Vienna, and a reception at the Viennese city hall.
For more details, visit the congress website.
![Examples of ultrasound findings and techniques. (A) Images in a 39-year-old male patient with a mass in the left thigh. The mass is heterogeneous on the B-mode US image (compared with the patient in D) and showed increased microvascularity (superb microvascular imaging [SMI]) and shear-wave elastography (SWE) values. Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy (with pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in surgical specimen). (B) Images in an 18-year-old male patient with a mass in the left leg. The mass is hypoechoic on the B-mode image, with no other findings suggestive of malignancy. The lesion is in contact with the cortex of the tibia, which is slightly irregular. CT revealed a doubtful anteromedial tibial erosion. The microvascular study demonstrated high vascularization, suggestive of malignancy. Periosteal Ewing sarcoma was diagnosed with both histologic and immunohistochemical confirmation. (C) Images in a 69-year-old female patient with a lump growing on the outside of the left leg. Multiple SWE examinations were performed (please note the high values obtained in the measurements, whereas the color map highlights the stiffness relative to adjacent tissues). SMI showed areas of increased vascularization to target for sampling. Undifferentiated spindle cell sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with residual leiomyosarcoma in the surgical specimen after neoadjuvant therapy. (D) Images in a 56-year-old female patient with a mass in the right thigh. The mass is heterogeneous at both B-mode ultrasound (similar to patient A) and MRI (coronal T2-weighted spectral attenuated inversion recovery [SPAIR]; T1-weighted pre-contrast and postcontrast imaging), which even shows uptake after the administration of paramagnetic contrast material, which is traditionally suggestive of malignancy. Low values at SMI and elastography are suggestive of benignity. Spindle cell lipoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with atypical spindle cell lipomatous tumor in the surgical specimen.](https://img.auntminnieeurope.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/08/images-radiol250278fig2.APCFLSvX6p.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=100&q=70&w=100)
![Examples of ultrasound findings and techniques. (A) Images in a 39-year-old male patient with a mass in the left thigh. The mass is heterogeneous on the B-mode US image (compared with the patient in D) and showed increased microvascularity (superb microvascular imaging [SMI]) and shear-wave elastography (SWE) values. Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy (with pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in surgical specimen). (B) Images in an 18-year-old male patient with a mass in the left leg. The mass is hypoechoic on the B-mode image, with no other findings suggestive of malignancy. The lesion is in contact with the cortex of the tibia, which is slightly irregular. CT revealed a doubtful anteromedial tibial erosion. The microvascular study demonstrated high vascularization, suggestive of malignancy. Periosteal Ewing sarcoma was diagnosed with both histologic and immunohistochemical confirmation. (C) Images in a 69-year-old female patient with a lump growing on the outside of the left leg. Multiple SWE examinations were performed (please note the high values obtained in the measurements, whereas the color map highlights the stiffness relative to adjacent tissues). SMI showed areas of increased vascularization to target for sampling. Undifferentiated spindle cell sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with residual leiomyosarcoma in the surgical specimen after neoadjuvant therapy. (D) Images in a 56-year-old female patient with a mass in the right thigh. The mass is heterogeneous at both B-mode ultrasound (similar to patient A) and MRI (coronal T2-weighted spectral attenuated inversion recovery [SPAIR]; T1-weighted pre-contrast and postcontrast imaging), which even shows uptake after the administration of paramagnetic contrast material, which is traditionally suggestive of malignancy. Low values at SMI and elastography are suggestive of benignity. Spindle cell lipoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with atypical spindle cell lipomatous tumor in the surgical specimen.](https://img.auntminnieeurope.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/08/images-radiol250278fig2.APCFLSvX6p.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
