By John Wallace
Fort Lauderdale Beach, Florida turned out to be an ideal spot for ICE in 2021.
The 2021 Imaging Conference & Expo (ICE) brought together 357 imaging professionals from throughout the United States on May 11 and 12. The conference was a huge success and described as a “class reunion” by many who were last able to interact with each other at the 2020 ICE conference held in Arizona.
The COVID-19 pandemic ramped up in the U.S. shortly after the 2020 ICE concluded in February of last year. Travel restrictions and other limitations mandated by companies and health care facilities as well as local and federal government resulted in virtual events and the cancellation of many imaging conferences.
MD Publishing, the parent company of ICE magazine and the ICE conference, decided to move its 2021 event to May. It proved to be an excellent decision.
MD Publishing President and Founder John Krieg said ICE 2021 was an opportunity for members of the diagnostic imaging community to reconnect.
“What we have proved is people can still meet in a safe and clean environment, continue doing business together and help our industry grow and prosper,” Krieg said. “It was like a reunion. It was wonderful to see everyone after a long hiatus.”
“I love that events are back stronger than ever,” he added.
MD Publishing Vice President Kristin Leavoy shared in the excitement of attendees and exhibitors when asked about the ICE 2021.
“ICE 2021 was such a refreshing event! It was great for our vendors and attendees to be able to come together after over a year of being apart,” Leavoy said. “Also, there were a lot of new faces who got a glimpse at all that the ICE conference and magazine have to offer. It’s wonderful to see the ICE name becoming a resource people know and trust!”
ICE 2021 included a packed exhibit hall, well-attended classes and festive networking events.
Jay Mazurowski, MS, CRA, FAHRA, is the new president of the Medical Technology Management Institution (MTMI). He was attending his first ICE and found it “very enjoyable.”
“I’m having a good conference,” he said. “The exhibit hall was great last night. I think the education was top notch. I made a lot of connections in the exhibit hall.”
“I was surprised with how many vendor partners you had for a show this size,” he added.
Advanced Ultrasound Systems’ Scott Heggie was also attending his first ICE.
“It’s been a really nice conference,” Heggie said. “The quality of the traffic has been good with a lot of inter-vendor communication – which has been nice.”
Amber Sportsman from MW Imaging said it was “nice to see people out and about again.”
Sportsman said she was able to meet one MW Imaging customer in person at the conference and spoke with some companies about vendor-to-vendor sales.
A few hours later, Sportsman was excited to talk about ICE some more.
“It’s been a great Day 2. We are very pleased with the conference. We’ve had a lot of good traffic,” she added.
Brian Wilson works for TRIMEDX and was a presenter at the conference.
“I’ve had a fantastic time,” Wilson said about ICE 2021. “I think it has been very well put together and very informative. I highly recommend it to anyone in the imaging field.”
“The education, exhibit hall and networking have all been top notch,” he added.
International X-ray Brokers President Bob Feldman was blown away by the conference, especially the amount of exhibit hall traffic on the last day of the event.
“It has been a very good show,” Feldman said. “It is probably one of the best ones for us. I’m surprised at the turnout for the second day.”
Eric Cunningham from AdventHealth said this was his first ICE, and he enjoyed the “great speakers” and “good networking.”
“I feel like they are my colleagues and it’s nice to see what’s going on outside of your own organization,” Cunningham said.
AdventHealth’s Patricia Pitterman said, “I’ve had a great conference.”
She stressed the quality of the presentations and some takeaways she will be able to use upon her return to work.
“I think the presentations are meaningful,” Pitterman said. “One of those that didn’t really occur to me is that end of life doesn’t mean it’s dead. There are other options for service.”
ICE returns to February next year. Imaging professionals are invited to ICE 2022 at The Meritage Resort & Spa in Napa, California. The conference is slated for February 2022.
For more information, visit AttendICE.com.
