Algorithm to Back Pain: Decoding Diagnosis, Delivering Image-Guided Relief

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

1:15 PM - 2:30 PM ET

Location: 716B

Coordinator(s)

Junjian Huang, MD (he/him/his)

Director of Interventional Radiology Pain and Palliative Services
Emory University School of Medicine, United States
David Prologo, MD

Division Director, Vice Chair
Emory University School of Medicine/Emory Healthcare, United States

Back pain is the leading cause of musculoskeletal-related morbidity in the world. Over 50 million people suffer from back pain in the USA, resulting in thousands of hospital visits and hospitalizations. Diagnostic and Interventional Radiologists are frequently at the forefront of diagnosis and treatment, and this session will take its audience through diagnostic imaging workup, patient evaluation, and procedural components for patients with back pain, both common and complex.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion, participant will be able to identify various musculoskeletal cause(s) of back pain.
Upon completion, participant will be able to conduct a thorough physical examination of a patient and their imaging to determine the etiology of back pain.
Upon completion, participant will be able to list procedural options for various etiologies of back pain.

Presentations:

1:15 PM - 1:25 PM ET

Initial Evaluation of Patients with Back Pain
Speaker: David MD Prologo, MD – Emory University School of Medicine/Emory Healthcare
1:35 PM - 1:45 PM ET

Basivertebral Nerve Ablation: Past, Present, Future
Speaker: Junjian Huang, MD (he/him/his) – Emory University School of Medicine
1:45 PM - 1:55 PM ET

Novel Interventions for Disc Disease
Speaker: Stefano Marcia, MD (he/him/his) – SS Trinità Hospital ASL CAGLIARI
1:55 PM - 2:05 PM ET

Spinal Cord Stimulation for Back Pain: Pearls and Pitfalls
Speaker: J. Dana Dunleavy, MD – Atlas Interventional Radiology (AIR)
2:05 PM - 2:15 PM ET

Devices from Abroad: Procedures and Therapies from Across the Pond
Speaker: Alexis Kelekis, MD, PhD, FSIR (he/him/his) – National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
2:15 PM - 2:30 PM ET

Q&A