ACC.08 and SCAI-ACCi2 Abstract Submissions are now closed.

ACC.08 Abstract Policies and Procedures

General Information

• The majority of accepted abstracts will be scheduled as either 10-minute oral presentations or 60-minute poster presentations. The Program Committee will determine format, based on the abstract topic and relationship to others submitted.
• All abstract presentations and question-and-answer periods will be in English.
• Abstracts selected will be published exactly as submitted in a 2008 supplement(s) of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The text of the abstracts will be available online in advance of the meeting to coincide with the JACC supplement date. Abstract title, authors, and up to two institutions with city, state, and country will be published in the onsite programs.
• Investigators need not be ACC members to participate.
• NEW Processing Fee Increase: There is a $20 processing fee for each abstract submitted payable online by credit card only. Purchase orders, checks, and electronic bank transfers will not be accepted. This fee is non-refundable and used to cover the cost of submission and processing.
• The College is unable to reimburse Annual Scientific Session faculty for travel, hotel, and per diem expenses. All accepted abstract presenters will be charged a $75 meeting registration fee and must register to obtain a hotel reservation and meeting badge. Online meeting registration will be available to ACC members beginning Sept. 14 and to the general audience on Sept. 26. Please click here on or after the dates listed above to register online. Individuals who wish to register and secure housing before abstract notification should register in the appropriate category (member, nonmember, etc.) and then request a refund of overpaid fees if your abstract is accepted. Registrations in the Abstract Presenter category will not be accepted until after December 18th.
• General Information subject to change due to circumstances beyond the ACC’s control.

Policies

• Abstracts must be SUBMITTED BY 11:59 p.m. CT, ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2007. The American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF) is not responsible for abstracts that are not submitted by this deadline date.
• Submissions with incomplete status cannot be processed.
• Submission of an abstract constitutes a commitment by the author(s) to present if accepted. Failure to present and register for the meeting, if not justified, will jeopardize future acceptance of abstracts.
• There is no limit to the number of abstracts an investigator may submit. If selected, the presenter must be one of the co-authors listed. An investigator may present no more than two abstracts. If more than two abstracts are accepted from an investigator, one of the co-authors must present any additional papers.
• Investigators should not submit the same research; abstracts that appear to be replicate versions of a single study will be rejected. Submissions will be checked for duplication and replicate versions will be rejected.
• Follow all instructions for completing the submission. Be sure to structure the content into Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusion sections.
• Clarity of expression will be considered in the review process. The overall quality of language used should assure comprehension by the reader.
• Use a maximum of five unique abbreviations in the body of the abstract. No abbreviations should appear in the title. Place abbreviations in parentheses after the full word the first time it appears. Abbreviations increase the difficulty of reading and evaluating abstracts, which will be considered in the review process.
• If authors' names appear on more than one abstract, their names must appear and be spelled identically on each abstract in order to facilitate proper indexing. Whenever possible, do not list authors with initials only.
• Submitters may return to the online system to edit abstracts, revise information, correct typographical errors, tables, graphics, or delete a submission at any time before 11:59 p.m. CT on September 27, 2007. After this time, the system will be closed, and abstracts will be forwarded for the reviewing process. An author may not revise or resubmit an abstract in order to make changes or corrections after this deadline; adding or removing authors is not permitted. The abstract may be withdrawn or, if accepted, the error may be indicated during the presentation. Proofread abstracts carefully to avoid errors before they are submitted. The ACCF is not authorized to make changes to a submission. This includes typographical errors. Your abstract, if selected, will be published in print and electronic versions exactly as submitted. Tables and graphics, if the quality submitted is poor, will also appear badly in print and electronic versions. If you choose to withdraw an abstract after the submission deadline, this request must be received by the ACCF in writing and sent to kturner@acc.org or faxed to (202) 375-6843.
• Each submitter is required to submit one Learning Objective that is specific to the presentation, should your abstract be selected. Begin each statement of a specific learning outcome with a verb that specifies definite, observable behavior such as “demonstrate,” “identify,” “interpret,” “distinguish,” “describe,” “evaluate,” etc.  You will be asked to complete the following sentence:  “At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to.…”  Tip: Meeting attendees may make their decision to attend an abstract presentation based on the Learning Objective provided.  Relate the Learning Objective to the abstract conclusions/results data to best aid attendee decision-making.
• Abstracts are not eligible for consideration if the paper has been presented at a U.S. national or international meeting held in North America before the ACC Annual Scientific Session.
• Abstracts are not eligible for consideration if the manuscript of the abstract has been published before the ACC Annual Scientific Session.
• Abstracts submitted to the Young Investigators Awards (YIA) Competition may also be submitted for ACC.08 consideration using the respective submission methods. If selected both as a YIA Competition finalist and as a presenter of an oral or poster presentation, an author must choose one forum for this abstract. Submission to the YIA Competition does not automatically enter the abstract in the ACC.08 abstract process. Click here for additional information regarding the YIA submission process.
• Any human experimentation must conform to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association.
• The Program Committees endorse the position of the American Association for the Advancement for Science in requiring assurances of the responsible use of animals in research. All submissions for consideration must be in compliance with the guidelines.
• Each presenting author will be asked to comply with the ACCF "Statement on Disclosure (Vested Interest) and Conflict of Interest for Accredited Educational Activities” Policy. Indication of the relationship, the associated commercial entity and level of support is required for each author. Presenters will be asked to submit this information on behalf of all authors January 2008 if the abstract is accepted.  All presenters must display a slide (or equivalent in any other presentation format, e.g., flat or e-poster) at the beginning of their presentation indicating disclosure information as applicable, or that they have nothing to disclose.
• The submitter acts on behalf of all co-authors and in submitting an abstract, transfers to the American College of Cardiology the copyright and all other rights in the material comprising the abstract if the abstract is accepted. Co-authors reserve the following: a) all proprietary rights other than copyright, such as patent rights; and b) the right to use all or part of the abstract in future works of their own. The American College of Cardiology, as holder of the copyright on the accepted abstract, reserves all rights of reproduction, distribution, performance, display, and the right to create derivative works in both print and digital formats.
• In light of increased attention to how research results (particularly those affecting the stock of publicly-traded companies) are released publicly, the American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF) is clarifying its policies governing the disclosure of scientific research results contained in late-breaking clinical trial presentations and abstracts. Please read the following carefully. Anyone determined by the College to have violated the embargo policies may be withdrawn from the program or sanctioned as deemed necessary.
• All abstracts submitted in connection with ACC.08 are disclosed to members of the peer review selection committee, as well as to ACC employees and contractors as necessary.
• Abstracts accepted for presentation will be published in the March 2008 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Abstracts not accepted for presentation are not published and will not be disclosed outside of ACC and persons associated with the selection process (e.g., the peer review committee).
• Although ACC and ACC employees or contractors cannot guarantee the confidentiality of submitted abstracts, every effort will be made to ensure confidentiality of submitted material.
• Primary responsibility for compliance with any disclosure or nondisclosure requirements resides solely with researchers and/or research sponsors.
• Click here for the complete ACCF Embargo Policies document, which includes information about Late-Breaking Clinical Trial Presentations.

In the event that an author’s/presenter’s work will be published in a major peer reviewed medical journal concurrent with the timing of the Annual Scientific Session, it is the responsibility of the abstract author/presenter to notify the ACC press office of the publication name and date as soon as possible. Doing so will allow ACC to work with the publication to coordinate embargo of the material.

Accepted Abstracts

Titles and co-authors of accepted abstracts for oral and poster presentations will be listed in the onsite programs. Title and co-author listings will also be posted in the online searchable program planner system in January, 2008. Full text of accepted abstracts will be published in print and/or electronic versions of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and the online program planner system in advance of the meeting.

The person presenting an accepted abstract will receive an e-mail in mid December. The submitter will be asked to reconfirm the name and contact information of the presenter or request changing the name of the presenter by contacting ACC staff (in order to comply with the two-abstract presentation limit); and submit conflict of interest information on the Presenter’s Agreement via the online notification system.  

Oral Presentations

All oral presentations will be programmed into 15-minute time slots. The Presenter’s Agreement will indicate the time of the session. The presenter will have 10 minutes for presentation and three minutes for discussion. All abstract presentations and question and answer periods will be in English. If a presenter needs assistance in understanding the questions or responding in English, he or she is encouraged to have the session co-chair or a member of his or her research group assist. New this year: The number of oral abstract presentations will be limited to a few especially important studies.

ACC is committed to providing the audience and faculty the best education environment possible. The ACC uses an all-electronic format for audiovisual requirements. All meeting rooms utilizing audiovisual equipment will be networked. Presentations will be downloaded from a central server and sent to the respective meeting room on a secured site. Presenters will be required to upload their presentation in advance; or bring their presentation in an electronic format to the Speaker Ready Room, where they will have the opportunity to review or make changes on computers in the room, and then give the okay for the presentation to be uploaded to the appropriate meeting room. This will minimize distraction and critical time wasted for both the head table participants and the audience.

A listing of the audiovisual hardware/software provided in each of the education rooms will be indicated on the Presenter’s Agreement.


Poster and Other Presentation Formats

If an abstract is accepted as a standard flat poster, the Presenter’s Agreement will indicate the hour that the presenter is required to attend the board. Each light gray poster board measures four feet high (121 cm) and eight feet wide (244 cm). The presenter must provide the presentation material for the poster board, including a copy of the abstract and all relevant disclosure information. Text and illustrations must be readable from distances of at least three feet. Use lightweight materials only; heavy articles are difficult to secure. Velcro fasteners and push pins will be available on site. All presentation materials should be produced in advance and brought to the Annual Scientific Session/SCAI-ACCi2. No audiovisual, projection, or computer equipment requiring electrical power will be permitted in the general poster session area.

The Program Committees are committed to expanding the use of the electronic poster (e-poster) system, which offers benefits to both investigators and meeting attendees, including:

• 24/7 access
• Increased exposure
• Enduring material
• Self-directed learning
• Accessibility via the CardioSource portal
• Interactive communication with presenting author via email

The Program Committees also recognize the importance of face-to-face exchange between presenters and attendees.  In order to achieve the "best of both worlds," papers accepted for poster presentations in these categories:

• Cardiac Arrhythmias
• Cardiac Function and Heart Failure
• Congenital Cardiology Solutions (formerly known as Pediatric Cardiology and Adult Congenital Heart Disease)
• Myocardial Ischemia and Infarction
• NEW! Quality of Care & Outcomes Assessment
• Valvular Heart Disease
• Vascular Disease, Hypertension and Prevention
• Pediatric Cardiology

 will be scheduled for presentation in the traditional flat poster format (3 1/2 hr sessions with the presenter attending the board for one hour).  In addition, traditional flat poster presenters will be requested to upload a PowerPoint or PDF version of their poster into the e-poster system. This can be easily accomplished after material for the flat poster is generated.   

Papers accepted for poster presentations in these categories:

• Imaging and Diagnostic Testing
• Interventional Cardiology

 will be scheduled for presentation via computer plasma screens using an online multimedia delivery system. This system offers a wide choice of display enhancements, including the presentation of digital medical imagery such as photos, movies, and PowerPoint slides. Each plasma presentation will be scheduled for 60 minutes (presenter attending) within a specific 90-minute interval. The 90-minute interval is an increase from last year to allow ample time for the change between presenters at a plasma station or if a presentation runs over.

The Presenter’s Agreement will indicate if a presenter is accepted to present in one these formats and will contain specific information regarding each.

New for ACC.08! The poster sessions will be graded by a panel of experts in each of the topic areas. The posters that are judged most scientifically important will be identified on a daily basis and maintained on display for extended viewing.  An overall "best poster of the year" will be identified and announced during the ACC.08 Meeting Highlights session, where a prize will be awarded.