As the end of the year draws near, attention turns to planning for the holidays and family gatherings. It is also a time where we generously reach into our wallets in order to give to our favorite charitable organizations. The ASE Foundation (ASEF) is one such organization that I urge you to include on your donation list.
ASEF is the charitable arm of the American Society of Echocardiography that aims to assure the visibility and viability of cardiovascular ultrasound in the U.S. and the rest of the world. It was created in 2003 to fund ASE initiatives that are not supported by membership dues. Monies raised through the annual appeal support the following activities:
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Research investigator support and research studies;
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Guideline translations and global dissemination;
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Travel grants and scholarships;
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Global health outreach events;
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Patient awareness; and
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Demonstrating the value of cardiovascular ultrasound.
Highlights of recently funded projects include a $200,000 multi-year grant to Victor Mor-Avi, PhD, FASE, from the University of Chicago for a project called “Echocardiographic Evaluation of Hemodynamic Significance of Coronary Stenosis in Patients with Chest Pain Undergoing CT Angiography.” Dr. Mor-Avi presented the results of his research at the 2017 Scientific Sessions. Also at the Scientific Sessions were the 25 top abstract presenters chosen by the Abstract Chair for their scientific merit. These early career investigators received travel grants in order to offset their Scientific Sessions travel expenses. Other funded research awards include the Arthur E. Weyman Young Investigator’s Award Competition, the Sonographer Investigator’s Award Competition, and the Tomtec Innovator Research Travel Grants. In addition, ASEF is funding the WASE Normal Values Study, a multinational study to determine normal Chamber Quantification values in a large variety of geographical regions.
One of ASE’s goals is to reach out to the international community. ASEF is the optimal organization to help achieve this goal. ASEF’s global health outreach events bring adult and pediatric cardiovascular care and education to areas in need. In 2017, ASEF traveled to Cuba, China, and Vietnam. Each event was unique and designed to meet the needs of the local community. In Cuba, nine ASEF volunteers held an educational event for over 300 cardiologists from throughout Cuba. Lectures were given in Spanish and included basic and advanced imaging topics. Cuban officials estimate that we reached 91% of the echocardiographers in that country ( Figures 1 and 2 ). The event in China consisted of echo scanning 97 needy patients (many with complex congenital heart disease, Figure 3 ) and participating in two educational symposiums. On site for these educational events were 500 attendees. Another 5,000 attended by webinar! The most recent event was in Vietnam, where there were two large educational events, an echo screening event where 401 patients were scanned, and a training session to introduce the concept of sonographers ( Figures 4 and 5 ). The idea of this initiative was to show that using trained sonographers is beneficial in the care of patients.
