Millbrook was instrumental in the end-to-end delivery of LAS 2025, managing logistics, communications, and stakeholder coordination to ensure a seamless experience for delegates and faculty alike.
The London Arrhythmia Summit (LAS) 2025 Annual Meeting took place on Friday, 13 June at the prestigious King’s Fund, London. This high-profile one-day event aimed to deliver top-tier education in the fields of arrhythmia and pacing, bringing together an expert community of clinicians and medical professionals. The event attracted 170 attendees, including prominent figures from the medical field. The conference was sponsored by J&J MedTech, Abbott, Medtronic, and Boston Scientific, enhancing the overall experience with valuable insights from leading industry players.
The primary goal of the LAS 2025 conference was to provide high-quality arrhythmia and pacing education in a succinct, one-day format. With a strong focus on the latest innovations in the field, the meeting sought to deliver cutting-edge knowledge and foster collaborative dialogue among the UK’s leading experts.
The objectives included:
Planning and Execution
Following the 2024 conference, preparations for LAS 2025 began. The planning timeline included key stages such as sponsor announcements, programme updates, and opening of registration. Faculty arrangements, particularly the coordination of overseas travel and accommodation, were vital to ensuring smooth participation.
Venue Logistics
The King’s Fund, with its 130-seat theatre-style arrangement, was carefully chosen for its central position and excellent facilities. The venue featured an open and airy space for catering and exhibitions in the Orangery, providing an ideal setting for networking. Additionally, the in-house AV team was involved early in the planning process to review previous feedback and fine-tune the technical setup to meet expectations.
Marketing and Promotion
A multi-channel marketing approach ensured effective outreach:
Technology Integration
Technology played a crucial role:
Challenges Faced
Despite the comprehensive planning, several challenges arose:
Key Metrics
Qualitative Feedback
Attendees praised the keynote lecture and the ECG masterclass with Dr Mandrola and Prof. Klein, respectively, highlighting the bite-sized updates and innovative topics such as LBBAP and leadless pacing. The AF ablation consensus session received excellent reviews, with strong interaction during Q&A. Testimonials included:
Strategic Impact
The event facilitated new partnerships and provided a significant platform for brand exposure. The ROI was evident, with sponsors gaining extensive visibility and delegates receiving high-value education.
Lessons Learned
What Worked Well?
Applying Insights to Future Events
Quotes and Testimonials
The LAS 2025 conference successfully built on the legacy of LAS 2024, achieving record attendance and attracting prominent key opinion leaders from across the medical landscape. The event reinforced its position as one of the premier education platforms in the UK for arrhythmia and pacing specialists.
Millbrook Medical Conferences (Millbrook) successfully delivered the SCTS Annual Meeting 2025 on behalf of the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery in Great Britain and Ireland (SCTS). Taking place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre from Sunday 16 to Tuesday 18 March 2025, this flagship three-day event brought together over 1,200 delegates across all stages of the cardiothoracic surgery profession.
With an expansive scientific programme, over 50 sponsors and a complex multi-track agenda, the SCTS Annual Meeting stands as one of the most significant events in the UK cardiothoracic calendar.
Millbrook worked closely with SCTS to deliver a comprehensive portfolio of services that ensured a successful experience for delegates, faculty and sponsors alike. This included full event logistics, marketing support, faculty and delegate management, registration delivery, app development, and on-site coordination across multiple concurrent sessions and stakeholder groups.
The conference was structured across three key days:
Millbrook ensured that each delegate type—from consultants to medical students—received targeted communications, tailored registration options, and relevant session access.
Millbrook designed and managed a robust registration platform, accommodating complex group bookings, guest speaker pathways, and exclusive access to specialist sessions. The registration site was closely linked to the conference programme, developed in-line with abstract management software.
With over 500 abstracts submitted, abstract-driven sessions formed a significant portion of the event. The use of dedicated software enabled Millbrook and SCTS to efficiently manage programme creation, speaker scheduling, and communication with a large and diverse faculty. The platform’s filtering and search functions also allowed attendees to navigate the dense programme with ease.
A fully branded event app was developed, which acted as a central hub for:
To further encourage delegate participation, the app included interactive Q&A and live polling, along with speaker rating features and push notifications to guide attendees throughout the event.
“Very easy and staff at the meeting were excellent.”
“Easy with the app – much better than emails.”
Millbrook facilitated aspects of faculty logistics, including registration and on-site support. Guest speakers were offered a complimentary registration route through a hidden link, streamlining their onboarding experience.
With over 50 sponsors, Millbrook liaised with sponsors regarding registration and provided on-the-day support. To prepare for future scalability, a recommendation was made to implement enhanced scheduling software for improved sponsor task tracking and file sharing in 2026.
A large Millbrook team was deployed on-site across the three-day event to manage multiple registration desks, badge kiosks, exhibition build support, and troubleshooting. Despite a few location-based challenges with the self-serve kiosks, the team ensured all delegates received a smooth and welcoming experience.
Delegates praised the convenience and speed of the on-site experience, as well as the effectiveness of the app in navigating such a comprehensive programme.
“Flawless process. Smooth, efficient, and the machines were easy to use.”
An evaluation survey was distributed to all attendees, with 433 responses submitted.
Key Highlights:
“Overall, this was an exceptionally well run conference. The location and facilities were excellent. The quality of the talks and plenary speakers was very high and I felt motivated to take the learning back into my own practice.”
Millbrook’s comprehensive approach to managing the SCTS Annual Meeting 2025 ensured the seamless delivery of a highly complex and prestigious event. From multifaceted registration management and app development to high-level faculty support and sponsor coordination, Millbrook met every challenge with professionalism and strategic planning.
Key outcomes included:
Millbrook’s attention to detail, flexibility, and commitment to quality played a critical role in ensuring that the 2025 Annual Meeting not only upheld the reputation of SCTS but also set a new standard for delegate experience and event innovation.
The event received outstanding feedback from both delegates and faculty, reinforcing its importance within the cardiothoracic surgical community. With a strategic plan for continuous improvement, including earlier app development and enhanced sponsor communications, the 2026 meeting is well-positioned for even greater success.
Millbrook Medical Conferences successfully delivered CHIP (Complex High-risk Indicated Patients) 2024 at the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel in Glasgow on Thursday 21 and Friday 22 November. Organised on behalf of esteemed course directors Dr Aadil Shaukat, Dr Francis Joshi, and Dr Mitchell Lindsay, and all consultant cardiologists at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital, CHIP brought together 169 attendees for an intensive 1.25-day live educational event focused on complex PCI procedures.
The event provided a platform for cath lab teams to exchange real-world knowledge and explore advanced interventional cardiology practices through lectures, debates, and live cases, all guided by a renowned international faculty.
Creating a Specialist Learning Environment for the Cath Lab Community
Millbrook worked in close collaboration with the course directors to curate a programme that supported learning across all roles in the catheterisation laboratory, including consultants, fellows, nurses, radiographers, and physiologists. The result was a highly tailored experience, structured to deliver practical, case-based education that resonated deeply with the attending audience.
Programme Highlights:
CHIP’s strategic goals centred around providing an engaging, interactive learning environment for cath lab professionals, with a particular emphasis on optimising outcomes from complex PCI procedures. Delegates were offered direct access to expert insights, emerging techniques, and shared clinical experiences.
To support these objectives, Millbrook focused on:
Overcoming Challenges with Smart Planning
The most significant logistical challenge for CHIP 2024 stemmed from its location in Glasgow, which can be difficult to access for delegates in southern and central regions of the UK. To address this, marketing efforts were focused on engaging Scottish and North East regional centres, ensuring strong local participation.
Despite this geographic challenge, attendance increased by 36% year-on-year, a testament to the strength of the programme and Millbrook’s regional marketing strategy.
Solutions and Innovations
CHIP 2024 stood out for its innovative programme structure and tailored approach to education. Key features included:
“The inclusion of short talks as the live cases progressed… The talks were relevant to the cases and markedly improved the engagement.”
Sponsor and Faculty Support
The venue’s unique structure, with the conference hotel attached to the hospital, allowed for seamless faculty movement and optimal AV setup for live case viewing in the built-in lecture theatre.
To enhance sponsor visibility, Millbrook worked to relocate the exhibition area in future years from the corridor to a more prominent foyer area and offered exhibitors earlier setup access to facilitate greater networking opportunities.
Survey Results and Impact
A post-event evaluation revealed overwhelmingly positive feedback:
“Fellow cases and discussions were fantastic.”
“The other side of the table – a patient’s voice undergoing complex PCI – was a powerful inclusion.”
Millbrook’s skilled management of CHIP 2024 ensured a successful, insightful, and well-paced learning experience for all attendees. By collaborating closely with the course directors, we created an environment where challenging clinical content was made accessible, engaging, and deeply relevant to the cath lab audience.
Key outcomes:
The CHIP annual conference continues to thrive as a vital event for the UK cath lab community. With strategic planning, insightful programming, and a commitment to continuous improvement, CHIP delivers an exceptional learning environment year after year.
As a trusted partner, Millbrook remains committed to delivering a high-quality delegate experience, seamless logistics, and maximum value for sponsors and faculty alike.
Millbrook Medical Conferences, in collaboration with long-standing partner Shockwave Medical, successfully delivered the Leeds Calcium 2024 meeting on 22 November 2024 at The Queens Hotel, Leeds. This bespoke educational event was developed under the clinical leadership of Dr Abdul Mozid, Consultant Cardiologist at Leeds General Infirmary, and is part of a growing series of sole-sponsored national training events sponsored by Shockwave and organised by Millbrook.
Focused on the management of complex cardiovascular disease, Leeds Calcium 2024 provided a high-value learning experience for a smaller, group of delegates in an intimate setting designed to encourage discussion, interaction, and reflection.
Empowering Specialists Through Focused Learning
With a focus on calcified coronary disease, the programme included expert lectures on imaging, treatment techniques, intravascular lithotripsy, and adjunctive technologies. The highlight of the day was the live case transmissions from Leeds General Infirmary, managed through Millbrook’s trusted and longstanding AV partner, Talking Slides. These sessions allowed delegates to gain valuable insights into real-time procedural decisions and outcomes.
This year’s course welcomed 38 attendees, including consultants, trainees, and interventional cardiologists from across the UK. The size and format of the event were intentionally designed to foster open discussion, live Q&A, and practical exchange among peers.
One delegate commented: “I feel more confident managing calcium.”
Millbrook worked closely with Dr Mozid to design a programme tailored to:
Planning & Execution
Planning for Leeds Calcium began approximately six months in advance, with early discussions focused on identifying key training goals and speaker requirements. The Queens Hotel, recently refurbished and well-known to Millbrook, was selected for its central location and proven versatility for medical meetings.
Millbrook’s role included:
A dedicated breakout space allowed for informal discussions, while the main session room was set up to encourage audience participation and debate.
Event Highlights
Unforeseen roadworks outside the venue created complicated AV and delivery logistics. Millbrook’s on-site team arrived 24 hours in advance, allowing time to adjust plans, manage unloading challenges, and coordinate closely with the hotel and AV teams, ensuring no disruption to the delegate experience.
Survey Results and Feedback
Leeds Calcium 2024 received overwhelmingly positive feedback:
“The communication between the lab and room was great.”
“The mix of didactic sessions and cases was perfect.”
Leeds Calcium 2024 continues to prove that smaller, targeted meetings can deliver exceptional educational outcomes. With high satisfaction rates and excellent clinical relevance, this event once again demonstrated the success of the collaborative model between Shockwave Medical, Dr Abdul Mozid, and Millbrook Medical Conferences.
Millbrook Medical Conferences (Millbrook) launched its partnership with the British Heart Rhythm Society (BHRS) in early 2023, with the first Millbrook-organised event being the BHRS Hands-on Simulator Training Day and EP Traces Day in November, known as BHRSimulation.
The BHRS plans to host three key meetings annually: BHRSessions, BHRSimulation, and BHRSymposium.
The partnership continued in 2024 with the inaugural BHRS Scientific Sessions (BHRSessions), held from Tuesday 27 to Thursday 29 February at The Midland Hotel, Manchester. The event kicked off with bolt-on training days on Monday 26 February, featuring an Arrhythmia Nurses Day and a Hands-on Simulator Training Day, followed by parallel sessions throughout the week focusing on research and physiology, and concluding with an EP Traces Day on Thursday 29 February.
Recognising the complexity of organising such a major event, and building on the success of BHRSimulation, the BHRS entrusted Millbrook Medical Conferences to manage the entire process—from planning to execution.
BHRSessions drew 159 attendees and 69 faculty members, while the Arrhythmia Nurses Day welcomed 50 attendees. The Hands-on Simulator Training Day saw 53 participants, and the EP Traces Day attracted 41 delegates.
BHRSessions – 27-29 February
The BHRSessions, an exclusive event for BHRS members, provided crucial education and updates to arrhythmia professionals and trainees. The programme covered a range of topics, including EP ablation, devices, ICC, ACHD, and research. It catered to consultant electrophysiologists, fellows, investigators, cardiac physiologists, nurses, and BHRS exam candidates. To ensure accessibility, bursaries were offered for both registration and travel/accommodation expenses for those who were unable to secure funding from their trust.
As part of the BHRSessions, arrhythmia professionals were invited to submit abstracts showcasing their work in arrhythmias and implantable devices. Submissions, which could include short reports of scientific studies, audits, and case reports, were required to be up to 500 words with a maximum of one figure and submitted via the BHRS website. The accepted work was presented on digital poster presentation boards at the BHRSessions. Additionally, physician authors under 40 at the time of submission, those in training, or allied professionals were eligible for the Young Investigator Award. Four shortlisted applicants presented their work on the stage in the main meeting room to a panel of judges. The winner was announced at the drinks reception.
The event, led by Dr John Paisey, Dr Fozia Ahmed, Dr Vishal Luther and Prof. Pier Lambiase, was designed not only to provide education but also to accommodate the specific needs of various professionals within the arrhythmia field, including those with limited time due to the demands of their roles in the NHS.
Arrhythmia Nurses Day – Monday 26 February
Held the day before BHRSessions, the Arrhythmia Nurses Day covered topics such as the AF surgical pre-admission pathway, NOAH study outcomes, new anti-arrhythmic drugs, AF commissioning, PROMs in AF, autonomic dysfunction, dronedarone data, BHRS accreditation, and an ECG workshop with cases and traces.
Hands-on Simulator Training Day – Monday 26 February
Led by Dr Jonathan Behar, attendees experienced an intensive day of hands-on training in a range of different device and EP ablation therapy, tailored for core and arrhythmia cardiology trainees, as well as healthcare scientists. With over 25 training stations from various sponsoring companies, participants enjoyed focused, personalised instruction in their areas of interest. They chose the stations that best suited their needs prior, ensuring a truly hands-on experience.
EP Traces Day – Thursday 29 February
Clinical programme lead Dr Simon Modi welcomed SpRs, physiologists, and consultants looking to “brush up” on their skills for an interactive day dedicated to exploring EP traces. The day was ideal for participants who had spent some time in the EP lab and wanted to sharpen their diagnostic skills and deepen their understanding of EP.
Throughout the day, attendees were encouraged to step out of their comfort zones, actively engage, and describe the activity in the traces—all within an open and supportive atmosphere.
Millbrook brought a comprehensive suite of event management services to BHRSessions, ensuring smooth execution from registration management to attendee and faculty care. Millbrook collaborated closely with the programme committee and sponsoring companies to create a packed agenda featuring high-quality content and top-tier faculty.
In response to the Junior Doctor Strike announced less than a week before BHRSessions, Millbrook remained committed to holding the event in person for those who could attend. For those unable to join, a virtual option was provided, allowing participants to tune in live from cath labs and staff rooms as their schedules permitted. The interactive BHRS Education app, developed by Millbrook for the November BHRSimulation, facilitated virtual engagement, enabling attendees to explore the sponsor exhibition, view posters and abstracts, participate in live polling, engage in Q&A sessions, and even take part in a treasure hunt.
Throughout the BHRSessions, abstract submissions evolved into posters displayed on digital boards for attendee interaction during refreshments and lunch breaks in the exhibition area. Millbrook managed communications with participants, coordinated submissions, collected posters and slides, and forwarded selected materials to the audio-visual team for display.
Millbrook also handled travel arrangements for a high-profile international speaker from British Colombia, Canada, and all faculty accommodations, ensuring a seamless experience.
To further enhance accessibility, Millbrook offered attendees bursaries and provided hospitals with the option to pay via invoice, making the event inclusive and accommodating for all attendees.
Beyond the core BHRSessions, Millbrook organised additional days tailored to specific healthcare professionals, including the Arrhythmia Nurses Day, Hands-on Simulator Training Day, EP Traces Day, and a physiologists’ session with an exam and accreditation component. These sessions ran on Wednesday 28 February, parallel to BHRSessions, with attendance tracked via the BHRS app using QR code scans.
Millbrook coordinated with the seven sponsoring companies in advance to confirm the equipment and training they would offer at both core and advanced levels. Once the training stations were finalised, they were added as optional items in the registration platform. Registered delegates were then invited to update their preferences, selecting up to six stations for personalised training. Each station was designed to accommodate a small group for a tailored learning experience, with sessions lasting 30 minutes to an hour.
The inaugural BHRSessions and accompanying training days were met with overwhelmingly positive feedback for both content and presentation. Due to this success, Millbrook has been appointed to organise the 2025 edition in Scotland.
BHRSessions Survey Results:
Highlights included:
Arrhythmia Nurses Day Feedback:
Hands-on Simulator Training Day Feedback:
EP Traces Day Highlights:
Millbrook looks forward to continuing its partnership with the British Heart Rhythm Society for future events.
Millbrook Medical Conferences (Millbrook) successfully organised the London Arrhythmia Summit (LAS) at The King’s Fund, London, on behalf of new clients Dr Shouvik Haldar, Prof. Tom Wong, and Dr Wajid Hussain. This well-established summit, held on Friday 14 June 2024, attracted over 130 delegates, reinforcing its reputation as a premier event in arrhythmia and pacing education.
Millbrook provided a comprehensive range of services, including managing delegate registrations, maintaining the event website, overseeing social media channels, creating promotional artwork, and coordinating accreditation processes.
Millbrook also ensured seamless delegate and faculty care, including travel and accommodation arrangements, liaising with the venue and sponsors, and providing a dedicated on-site team of three. Post-event, Millbrook facilitated the distribution of evaluation surveys and certificates of attendance, ensuring a smooth and successful experience for all involved.
The London Arrhythmia Summit is a premier event in the UK, dedicated to delivering high-quality education on arrhythmias and pacing in a concise one-day format. The summit is renowned for its short, focused presentations, each designed to deliver key takeaways that can be readily applied in clinical practice.
The event features debates on challenging clinical scenarios led by top experts in the field, along with interactive “Ask the Expert” sessions that encourage audience participation.
Website and Registration Management:
Millbrook ensured the LAS website was meticulously maintained, providing up-to-date and accurate information for delegates. A seamless user experience was prioritised, with a direct link to a fully branded registration site, enabling easy access and streamlined delegate sign-ups. This approach ensured that all necessary details were readily available to attendees, contributing to a smooth registration process.
Increasing Awareness of LAS:
Given the summit’s established reputation and previous successful meetings at The King’s Fund, the course directors were keen to maintain continuity with the venue, while also focusing on expanding the summit’s reach and impact.
With LAS experiencing consistent growth, a strategic objective was set to eventually outgrow The King’s Fund venue and broaden the summit’s reach. Millbrook focused on enhancing LAS’s online presence, particularly through social media. A targeted social media strategy, emphasising LinkedIn, was implemented. This included regular updates, engaging content, and strategic paid posts, resulting in a dramatic increase in followers from 22 to 265 in just six months. Additionally, Millbrook forged relationships with key publications and professional societies, laying the groundwork for future collaborations and further boosting the summit’s visibility within the medical community.
Faculty Support:
Millbrook coordinated comprehensive travel and accommodation arrangements for eleven international faculty members, ensuring their smooth arrival and stay at The Mandeville Hotel. This included organising a faculty dinner at The Mandeville on the evening of Thursday 13 June which provided a valuable networking opportunity for both national and international faculty. By managing these details, Millbrook ensured that the faculty could focus solely on their contributions to the summit.
On-Site Management:
To guarantee seamless on-site operations, Millbrook deployed a dedicated team of three experienced professionals. They oversaw all logistical and operational aspects of the event, from registration to real-time problem-solving, ensuring that the summit ran smoothly and that all attendees had a positive experience.
Event Documentation:
Recognising the importance of capturing key moments for future marketing and promotional efforts, Millbrook engaged a local photographer. The photographer was thoroughly briefed to capture high-quality images of significant interactions and presentations throughout the summit, providing valuable visual content to support the event’s ongoing promotional activities.
Millbrook successfully delivered a high-impact event for LAS 2024, achieving all outlined objectives and contributing to the summit’s continued growth and success. Through meticulous planning, innovative marketing strategies, and expert logistical coordination, the summit not only upheld its tradition of excellence but also set the stage for future expansion and increased influence in the medical community.
Millbrook’s efforts in maintaining the event website, managing registrations, and providing on-site support ensured a seamless experience for all participants. The strategic social media campaign significantly boosted LAS’s online presence, while strong faculty support and effective event documentation further enhanced the summit’s impact. Additionally, by securing CPD accreditation through the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom and Ethical MedTech Compliance through MedTech Europe, Millbrook provided added value to both delegates and sponsors.
Millbrook’s collaboration with a dedicated travel agency facilitated the smooth travel arrangements for faculty members coming from diverse locations such as Glasgow, New York, France, and Belgium, ensuring their timely and comfortable participation.
In summary, Millbrook’s comprehensive approach not only sustained the high standards expected of the London Arrhythmia Summit but also laid a strong foundation for its future growth and expanded influence.
An evaluation survey was distributed to delegates following the London Arrhythmia Summit. The feedback was extremely positive:
Attendees highlighted the following as the most valuable aspects of LAS:
Stay tuned for the London Arrhythmia Summit 2025!
Abbott, a global healthcare leader, approached Millbrook Medical Conferences in January to help plan and manage its annual CORE (Complete Revascularisation) conference in spring 2022. In its sixth year, CORE took place as a hybrid event at the Royal College of Physicians, London, from May 3–4.
With a lead time of just 10 weeks, CORE reached a global audience of over 1300 delegates representing several countries, including Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Latvia and Poland. 145 delegates attended in person and around 1200 tuned in online.
Aimed at interventional cardiologists, interventional cardiology nurses, cath lab personnel, including nurses, technicians and radiographers, and interventional fellows, CORE 2022 takes place on an annual basis.
Through innovative lectures and live cases delivered by world-renowned experts, CORE demonstrates how we can optimise PCI outcomes, together as a community. In addition, CORE addresses the appropriate treatment pathway for patients and explores how to further improve outcomes by examining the latest clinical evidence, cutting-edge techniques and beyond the intervention.
The main objective for holding the conference was to demonstrate and discuss how interventional cardiologists of all levels and cath lab personnel can optimise PCI outcomes, together as a community.
Abbott’s educational objectives for CORE were:
Historically, Radcliffe Cardiology has worked on CORE as a digital partner, but Millbrook was brought on to take care of the in-person proceedings. Combined, the Millbrook team has over 80 years of event management experience and was perfectly positioned to ensure Abbott achieved the educational objectives of the conference.
Millbrook brought several services to CORE, including on-site conference support, delegate management, marketing and communications, financial planning and venue sourcing, to ensure that the event ran as smoothly as possible. In addition, Millbrook managed all live case transmissions and logistics such as travel, accommodation and catering.
Meanwhile, Radcliffe Cardiology took care of the online element. The conference was recorded and is now available to watch on the Millbrook Hub and CORE 2022 website.
The venue of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) was a natural choice for CORE. The Millbrook team have used the RCP on multiple occasions for Abbott meetings and Abbott favoured the set-up of the venue. That, paired with its location with respect to train stations and hotels for accommodation ticked all the boxes. Millbrook used The Wolfson Theatre, which seats approximately 300 delegates.
Course directors James Spratt, Adrian Banning, Evald Christiansen, Jonathan Hill and Colm Hanratty led the creation of a comprehensive programme which offered 12 category 1 CPD credits. The programme was broken down into four sessions, which spanned the two days, titled: Imaging and Physiology, Pre-procedural Planning, Challenges in Complex PCI and Beyond Intervention.
A mix of presentations and eight live cases from Mater Private Hospital, Aarhus University Hospital, St George’s Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospital and London Bridge Hospital, addressed the appropriate treatment pathway for patients in 2022. The conference also explored how to further improve patient outcomes by examining the latest clinical evidence, cutting-edge techniques and beyond the intervention. What’s more, all delegates were given a certificate of attendance.
Day one concluded with a barbecue, which Millbrook organised in conjunction with the RCP. The barbecue was well attended with all delegates enjoying the food, drink and opportunity to network.
CORE 2022 received an abundance of positive feedback on both its content and presentation. The specialist and engaging subject matters paired with the number of delegates in-person allowed attendees to have in-depth discussions with the faculty.
The survey for CORE was completed by 529 people. 61 people filled out the questionnaire in person at the RCP, while 468 people submitted their feedback online via the CORE website. The results show:
Of the 529 survey respondents, 406 people credited the topics, live cases, range of talks and opportunity to network.
When asked what the best aspect of the course was, one delegate said: “It covered a large area of interventional cardiology with application in daily practice,” while another commented on the “superb range of talks with engaging and enthusiastic presenters.”
Other comments included: “Live cases were very interesting,” “Level of content suited to all HCPs”, “I think sessions were appropriately timed and good mix (sic)” and “Outstanding course. Thank you to Millbrook and Abbott.”
Most notably, all delegates surveyed said they wanted to participate in future CORE meetings.
Millbrook looks forward to working with Abbott to produce more successful conferences in the New Year.
The British Cardiovascular Intervention Society (BCIS) returned to the London Hilton Metropole for its annual three-day conference Advanced Cardiovascular Intervention (ACI). Millbrook Medical Conferences (Millbrook) made ACI a meeting to remember, offering gamification and a wealth of opportunities to participate through a dedicated app and education dome. ACI featured 30 sessions comprising over 80 presentations, educating over 900 delegates.
Spanning across three days, BCIS’s flagship conference attracts approx. 900 attendees, with the majority attending the full three-day programme. It aims to bring interventional cardiologists across the nation together.
Millbrook’s involvement since 2004 has been integral to the growth of this conference from restyling the exhibition and thus increasing sponsorship significantly, reworking branding and design and improving communications across the board. With Millbrook’s input, new education platforms such as live case transmissions, simulator demonstrations and interactive patient case discussion groups have been introduced. Furthermore, Millbrook provides delegate and faculty logistical support for ACI.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, ACI 2021 was held online. With COVID-19 restrictions lifted, ACI was given the green light to go ahead in springtime 2022. With ACI making a comeback in-person, Millbrook needed to deliver a memorable wow factor.
ACI aims to update cardiologists and healthcare professionals working in the field on all aspects of interventional cardiology through didactic state-of-the-art lectures, interactive angio review sessions and live cases.
Millbrook facilitated 30 sessions comprising 89 presentations. The conference space comprised of a main auditorium seating 900 delegates, where all presentations, live cases, debates and panel discussions took place. Other conference spaces housed breakout sessions where several sessions and meetings took place at any one time.
Two patient cases were transmitted live from hospitals in Scotland and Wales enabling real-time discussion and interaction with complex interventional cardiology procedures. In addition, two pre-recorded cases were shown during the conference.
An exhibition hall showcased 33 industry-sponsored booths. Six levels of sponsorship were available alongside extra sponsorship opportunities across other areas of the conference, securing additional funding and adding value to sponsors through increased visibility and more opportunity to receive return on their investment.
The conference included a dinner on the second evening seating 250 delegates in the main lecture hall.
Millbrook created, managed and populated a conference app which enabled live polling during debate sessions, shared programme information, and a treasure hunt game. The treasure hunt game involved delegates answering questions from across the conference to generate points, which added a sense of competition as a free BCIS membership for the following year was offered up as a prize. The app also provided evaluation forms for CPD certificates as well as sharing delegate, faulty and sponsor information to aid networking.
New for 2022, Millbrook thought up and implemented an Education Dome into the exhibition hall at ACI. An intimate venue, the inflatable dome seated 35 delegates and showcased industry-sponsored mini-talks during breaks and lunchtime, so that it did not distract people from the main meeting room, and, more importantly, the education. The dome was a hit with industry and delegates alike and aided in providing new opportunities for sponsors to showcase new devices and data, where they were unable to previously.
Returning as a face-to-face conference after COVID-19, ACI 2022 was a real success. The attendee feedback highlighted a thirst for in person meetings and networking. ACI 2022 received high praise for the range of topics covered, format and speaker line up. The survey for ACI 2022 was completed by 347 people.
The results show:
Commenting on the best part of ACI 2022, one delegate said: “Seeing everyone face to face and having very high-quality educational content.” Whilst another commented: “Meeting with colleagues and getting up to date with trials and practice. As always case presentations/angio reviews were excellent. Peter Ludman exceptional. Thanks to everyone involved.”
After a year of being virtual, ACI 2022 did not disappoint; a regular attendee shared the following feedback: “This is my 10th ACI meeting. Topics and speakers always real world, great collegiality and organisation. Good cases.”
A Twitter campaign for the conference resulted in 2.45 million impressions from over 1,000 tweets by 381 participants. See some Tweets from conference delegates:
“I remember the days of a half-empty main auditorium in years gone by. It’s a testament to the tireless work of @BCIS_uk Council, Adrian Banning, Simon Redwood & @MillbrookMed to bring the UK interventional community together in such numbers.”
Another Twitter user said “Fantastic #ACI2022 meeting. Enjoying every session! The app is great, current schedule and ability to submit feedback for CPD immediately -just brilliant. Congratulations to the Programme Committee, @BCIS, @MillbrookMed, @NickCurzen, @clare_12, and colleagues.”
For those unable to attend in-person, ACI was recorded and is now available to watch under the ‘On-Demand Education’ section of the BCIS website.
A regular client of Millbrook Medical Conferences (Millbrook), the Barts Interventional Group (B.I.G) based at Barts Heart Centre, London, aims to provide practical education and training events within interventional cardiology. Traditionally, B.I.G’s annual course, Advanced Cardiac Imaging Course (ACIC) had been delivered face-to-face in the capital, but the COVID-19 pandemic prevented this from happening in 2021. Millbrook took the reins of ACIC three years ago. When Millbrook was assigned ACIC in 2019, it reported delegate numbers of 164. In 2021, however, ACIC attracted 362 delegates, an increase of 198.
Following the success of ACIC pre-pandemic and the e-Conference in 2020, Millbrook’s digital expertise were called upon once more by course directors Andreas Baumbach, Anthony Mathur, Daniel Jones and Didier Locca to deliver an excellent event in 2021.
Aimed at cardiovascular specialists and centres, ACIC focuses on recent, cutting-edge advances in cardiovascular imaging techniques linked to coronary and structural interventions.
The course directors led the creation of the programme which offered three category one external CPD credits. Throughout the immersive course, national and international thought leaders explored the latest state-of-the-art advances in imaging and their evidence-based applications in daily clinical practice.
Discussions included:
With the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing, Millbrook created a bespoke, fully branded hub for ACIC through its customisable virtual conference platform, which provided delegates access to the live stream of the event and enabled them to visit sponsor exhibition pages, just like they would exhibition booths. Through the hub, attendees were able to download documents from the library and keep them together in an online personal briefcase and access Millbrook’s social media, giving them access to all the conversation surrounding the conference.
The event itself comprised pre-recorded presentations, a live keynote lecture from Ziad Ali MD and interactive panel discussion. Millbrook handled all the technical aspects, which meant that the speakers, including Ziad, could focus purely on their presentations.
Millbrook understands the challenges of maintaining audience engagement and participation with virtual courses, so its web-based platform allowed the faculty to incorporate new and imaginative ways to encourage this through online live polls, quizzes, Q&A and chat forums. These interactive elements used for ACIC allowed delegates to communicate with each other and ask questions to the faculty, as well as networking with industry representatives on their dedicated pages. Utilising such features created an interactive experience that was as close to a face-to-face event as possible.
Whilst the event was live, Millbrook monitored a help page for delegates who had queries regarding the platform as well as sitting in the ‘live stage’ room and the ‘green room’. This allowed Millbrook to be aware and responsive to every aspect of the course. Within the green room Millbrook briefed presenters before going live, which was extremely beneficial to them as it allowed them to ask any last-minute questions and to check all their audio-visual equipment was working as it should.
Millbrook’s web-based platform facilitated speakers from the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and the USA participating.
In addition, Millbrook also handled all the administration and logistics prior to the course, including registration and delegate management, faculty and sponsor liaison and funding.
In the lead up to the event, Millbrook created promotional material, including the programme, email marketing and dedicated social media campaigns, to build a sense of excitement and anticipation.
The e-Conference was well received with delegates providing positive feedback on both its content and presentation. The survey for the Advanced Cardiac Imaging Course was completed by 100 people and shows:
One delegate praised the appropriateness of the online ACIC and said: “Excellent virtual event in these times. Excellent broad range of speakers. Short sessions to keep interest”.
Other delegate feedback included: “Every presenter well prepared”, “Ease of access and open to everyone, excellent content”, “Timings kept well to schedule. Good mix of speakers and topics for different interests” and “Good organisation, interesting arguments.”
When asked what the best aspect of the course was, one delegate said: “Was very intrigued by the AI aspect of presentation and seeing how technology has advanced here,” while another commented: “I gained great insight on current techniques in cardiac imaging and enhanced my understanding on various procedures.”
The 12th Advanced Cardiac Imaging Course is now available to watch on the Millbrook Hub, which is home to a library of e-Conferences, webinars and recording of face-to-face meetings aimed at healthcare professionals. Users can login to their account by visiting https://www.millbrookhub.co.uk/mmc/login.
The 13th Advanced Cardiac Imaging Course is on the horizon and Millbrook looks forward to working with the Barts Interventional Group again. Again, the course will be virtual on Friday, 9 December 2022. Click here to register for the next Advanced Cardiac Imaging Course.
As COVID continued to restrict the amount of training and education that healthcare professionals were receiving, Millbrook Medical Conferences upgraded an annual, flagship, national society conference to an astonishing virtual, interactive bank of education and sharing of experiences to 850+ delegates.
A treasure hunt boosted engagement, industry interaction and competition. Content included ‘how-to’ tutorials, topic-specific sessions, acting scenarios and sponsor demonstrations. In addition, the event discussed difficult topics such as racial bias, sexism, and bullying head-on in new ways. The content will remain available online for new healthcare professionals as they join the specialty.
The British Cardiovascular Intervention Society’s three-day flagship annual scientific conference attracts approximately 1,000 attendees each year. Open to interventional cardiologists as well as allied health professionals, the meeting is the largest and most relevant educationally of its kind in the United Kingdom and the only focussed meeting offering a chance for everyone in this field of medicine, including industry, to network.
Leading up to January 2021, the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society (BCIS) was progressing as expected although this year, with the COVID pandemic still hovering, Millbrook was planning an e-conference with the hope that it might be able to have some faculty at a venue. As all event managers will have experienced, nothing is guaranteed during such a time.
Due to the huge spike in COVID cases over the Christmas period, it was decided, just three weeks before the conference was due to take place, that the conference should be postponed for three months. Most of the faculty and delegates were frontline workers and about to be transferred to support the ITU and respiratory physicians with the second wave. The Millbrook team knew that it wasn’t the right time for ACI to go ahead but recognised that the education was still very much needed, so should go ahead in spring.
Millbrook Medical Conferences (Millbrook) is the organising secretariat for BCIS and professional conference organiser (PCO) for BCIS meetings. Millbrook’s Managing Director, Fiona McDonald, was on the programme committee for BCIS’s ACI Virtual Experience, and therefore, was heavily involved in the topic selection, content creation and just as importantly, the delivery of the conference. Fiona’s previous experience as a medical secretary within the NHS and knowledge proved invaluable as Fiona was able to bring a fresh perspective to ACI.
The annual ACI (Advanced Cardiovascular Intervention) conference is part-funded by sponsorship from the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, and in return companies would traditionally have a booth within the exhibition hall, giving them the opportunity to network with delegates and generate new business. As such interaction was not possible virtually, Millbrook consulted with industry throughout the process to ensure the format offered value for money and ample opportunities to generate business. Through the process, Millbrook found that companies were not keen on the virtual format they had experienced at previous conferences and were struggling to engage with delegates at all. Posing a huge challenge for the PCO, Millbrook had to ensure that industry felt included and saw some return for their investment.
Millbrook thought up the idea of incorporating a ‘virtual treasure hunt’ to combat the challenges faced by industry representatives and ensure high engagement. Delegates were presented with various questions relating to every aspect of the conference, from the programme content to the sponsors and exhibition, and on-demand and live content.
Users were then directed to all areas of the e-conference to find the answers to the questions and for every correct answer they earned points. A public leader board was made available and the top three competitors had the opportunity to win an annual BCIS membership, worth up to £300.
The virtual treasure hunt resolved the issue of companies feeling like delegates were not connecting with their representatives and content. In addition, it added an element of fun and created a sense of suspense and competition to the e-conference. Overall, the virtual treasure hunt was a huge hit and received fantastic feedback from industry and delegates alike.
A prominent issue within interventional cardiology is the lack of women that work within the speciality, of all consultant cardiologists specialising in intervention, less than 6% are women. In response to this, BCIS created the Women in Cardiology Focus Group to explore and address the issue.
ACI 2021 marked one year since the group was created and for its debut group report to be presented to members. The President was keen to implement real change to address this, with Millbrook’s Fiona on the programme panel. A role-play session was created, there were three scenarios, each featuring a high-profile senior consultant cardiologist and a professional actor. The two were presented with a real-life scenario, whereby there is implied bullying, miscommunication, or sexism, and the two act out how they would behave in the situation. Regular time-outs were scheduled so both the cardiologist and actor could reflect on their behaviour and how they handled the situation, giving them the opportunity to analyse and improve as the conversations continued.
The videos were incredibly powerful, and the cardiologists involved said it gave a real insight into how to handle confrontation and how they can improve in their own scenarios moving forward. The sessions were praised by delegates for directly facing difficult topics and helping others to focus on the ‘softer-skills’ required for their roles, which are rarely taught and are essential for a high-functioning team.
The difficulty Millbrook and other PCO’s have experienced throughout the pandemic is how to take a three-day programme and create an engaging online experience with over 100 hours’ worth of content. Millbrook understands that people don’t have the same attention span for online-only events, but there was still so much to discuss that would be of high value to delegates. Originally, Millbrook was going to reduce the amount of content on offer and have live content over three half-days. However, there had been no education for a year, and so much had changed that Millbrook quickly realised the three days would be essential.
In total there were three tracks of content; one track was live, and the others were available on-demand. In addition, there was an exhibition hall, social media wall, chat forum, treasure hunt and much more. It was a risk to include so much information, but it was a risk that most certainly paid off, as Millbrook saw with the outstanding feedback received. The format allowed delegates to focus on the content they needed most, and the variety kept delegates engrossed.
The Results
Dr Gavin Galasko, ACI delegate and consultant cardiologist at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said:
“I don’t normally spontaneously volunteer feedback, but can I just say I thought ACI was excellent this year and that the virtual experience ran brilliantly.
“I thought it worked well and all the chairs did a brilliant job running each session virtually. I really enjoyed it. Well done everyone involved.”
Dr Shrilla Banerjee, chair of Women in Interventional Cardiology Focus Group and consultant cardiologist, added:
“Amazing three days! Thank you @MillbrookMed for transforming our #BCISACI meeting to a virtual platform to allow us to discuss important areas such as bias, INOCA, training issues, TAVI, stroke thrombectomy, OOHCA, trial data and Women in Interventional Cardiology!”
Dr Lavinia Gabara, cardiology fellow, commented:
“Fantastic news! #BCISACI has really taken things to another level.
“In addition to clinical up-dates and fantastic cases, sessions focused on ‘soft skills’, bullying, sexism and WIC…and I am still exploring! I think all cardiologists should check it out!”
Plus, on the first day of BCIS ACI, Science Pulse, a social listening tool designed to bridge the gap between journalists and scientists within social media platforms, tweeted that the top hashtags used by the scientific community in English tweets in the last 12 hours had been #COVID19, #BCISACI, #SARSCOV2, #EARTHDAY2021.
In addition, the more immediate impact of ACI Virtual Experience 2021 conference is shown by the analytics offered within the e-conference platform:
The adoption rate was particularly impressive. For many attendees, the conference registration is included within their annual subscription to BCIS and all content would be available on-demand after the event. With other ‘free’ e-conferences, Millbrook has seen an average of 50% adoption rate for a variety of reasons. To see such a high adoption rate is testament to the content included and promised to attendees within the lead up the event.
The ACI Virtual Experience 2021 also made history within BCIS for having the first ever all female panel discussing a session. Over the years, there had been many all-male panels, and over-representation of men within the faculty, but last year, ACI was different. Whilst there are far fewer women working within interventional cardiology than men, the programme group worked hard to ensure there was female representation across all sessions and including prominent roles within the conference.