The inaugural Barts Research and Advanced Interventional Neuroradiology (B.R.A.I.N) e-Conference took place Monday 7th – Thursday 10th December. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated Government regulations meant that this conference was transformed from a planned face-to-face event in central London to a virtual event.  Although with only a three month lead time, B.R.A.I.N. reached a global audience of just under 900 delegates representing 35 countries.

Programme directors Drs Paul Bhogal, Levansri Makalanda and Ken Wong, Interventional Neuroradiologists at Barts Health NHS Trust, led the creation of a comprehensive e-conference programme. With over 70 presentations over the four days, each day focussed on a single topic such as Stroke, Aneurysms and Embryology, Phylogeny, AVM and DAVF delivered by a truly global faculty of 60 speakers from 16 different countries.

The Millbrook team worked closely with the faculty to ensure all were confident and familiar with the virtual platform and delivering live presentations. This included arranging speaker briefings, creating training documents and filming and editing 16 pre-filmed talks. Working across multiple time zones was a key part to the success of the e-conference. The team implemented a virtual green room for presenters to access prior to ‘going live’ so they could go over any last minute questions or tests. This worked extremely well and took pressure off the producers of the live stream. Good communication was vital with presenters throughout the planning of the e-Conference. From reminders sent one week, one day, and one hour prior to going live, as well as obtaining back-ups of all presentations in case of any technical glitches.

A dedicated web-based platform was chosen for this e-conference offering a vast array of interactive features whilst being user friendly, eye-catching and easy to access regardless of device and location. Sponsor Exhibitition pages, a Social Media Hub and Documents Library gave attendees access to a wealth of information and ensured continued engagement throughout the duration of the conference. A chat function and Q&A boards were added to give two-way interaction for the delegates with the Q&A system moderated by the Millbrook Team.

The e-conference received a wealth of positive feedback, both on its format and content. Some comments from Twitter users include: “Fantastic conference guys, well done. Looking forward to 2021”, “Great conference , excellent organistation!”, “B.R.A.I.N @brainconferenc1 2020 was an amazing conference. I hope to participate it in person 2021!”. “Been the best virtual meeting of the year by miles, Very well organised.”

We are looking forward to working with Dr Bhogal and the Barts team to produce another successful conference in December 2021.