Challenging Cases
Showcase your most challenging and innovative coronary, endovascular, and structural heart disease cases at TCT. The highest-rated cases will be selected for presentation, and top cases will be published in JACC, providing global recognition for your clinical expertise and innovation.
Cases with the Masters: Get Keynote Recognition
All challenging case submissions are also in the running to be featured in the high-profile Cases With The Masters sessions. This is where interventionalists share unique, compelling cases with colleagues from around the world. If your challenging case is selected, you will:
- Gain insights from a Master’s Keynote Lecture aligned with your case theme.
- Have an opportunity for publication in JACC: Case Reports.
- Gain extended visibility through the CRF education and news platforms.
- Open the door to future opportunities at TCT.
NURSES AND TECHNOLOGISTS: ENTER THIS CHALLENGING CASE COMPETITION
Nurses! Technologists! Allied Health Professionals! Showcase your cath lab expertise with a global audience.
The Challenging Cases submission category includes a dedicated nurse and technologist competition. Here’s what to know:
- Submit your complex patient scenarios, creative solutions to procedural challenges, or success stories.
- Selected finalists will present at TCT 2026!
- Open to nurses and technologists who work in the cath lab or care for patients undergoing coronary, structural, or vascular procedures.
- Gain visibility and unlock future opportunities at TCT.
How To Submit
To be considered, you must submit to CHALLENGING CASES, then select NURSE/TECH CASE COMPETITION in the CATEGORY field.
Submission Guidelines (Applies to All)
- Enter the relevant information on the CRF® submission platform, as prompted. A PowerPoint slide presentation is optional.
- Character limit: 2,450 total, including case summary, history, diagnostic tests, procedure, conclusion, and comments. Each image reduces your character limit by 600. Each table reduces your character limit by 300.
- Images: 10 MB maximum.
- Video formats: 30 MB mpeg, wmv, avi, mov, mpg, mp4.
Notification
Accepted presenters will be notified in September.
Deadline to submit to this category has passed.
Scientific Abstracts
Submit your abstracts of original research for the opportunity to present to thousands of your colleagues worldwide. Research can be in the form of clinical studies, basic science investigations, or preclinical studies and must be relevant to interventional cardiology, endovascular medicine, or structural heart disease. Your abstracts must convey original research but can include portions of previous abstracts and/or manuscripts presented or published elsewhere.
Accepted abstracts will be published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC).
Note About Submission Categories
- Submit single-patient case reports to Challenging Cases, regardless of the novelty of the case.
Submission Guidelines
- Grammar check: Please ensure that your abstract submission undergoes thorough grammatical checking to ensure it is publication-ready if accepted.
- Correct upload: Verify that all study information, including tables and images, is correctly uploaded and displayed on the submission site.
- Character limit: 2,200, including spaces (approximately 300-350 words). Each image reduces your character limit by 600. Each table reduces your character limit by 300.
Notification
Accepted presenters will be notified in late August.
Deadline to submit to this category has passed.
Thomas J. Linnemeier Spirit of Interventional Cardiology Young Investigator Award
Younger than 40? Committed to academic and research excellence and have the accomplishments to demonstrate it? Apply for the Young Investigator Award!
The Linnemeier Award is designed to inspire young physicians to pursue a lifelong commitment to clinical and academic excellence. This prestigious award honors achievements in interventional cardiovascular medicine and aims to stimulate continued dedication to exceptional patient care and ongoing academic research by emerging investigators.
The finalists will become faculty at TCT 2026. The winner will be announced at the conference and will receive the award along with a $10,000 scholarship on the podium at TCT 2026.
Eligibility
We encourage both international and U.S.-based applicants. Candidates for this award must be:
- Younger than 40 years old at the start of TCT 2026 (October 31, 2026) — excluding individuals who have attained the rank of associate or full professor, regardless of age. (Applicants over the age of 40 need not apply.)
- Specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine (interventional cardiology, endovascular medicine, structural heart disease, pathology, etc.).
Application Guidelines
Please submit the following:
- CV
- Personal statement
- Clinical accomplishments
- Letters of recommendation
- Supplemental information, as relevant
Notification
Finalists will be notified in mid-September.
Deadline to submit to this category has passed.
Innovation Sessions and TCT® Shark Tank Innovation Competition
Innovation Sessions
Submit your novel technologies relevant to the monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment of coronary, endovascular, or structural heart disease. Selected emerging technologies will be presented at TCT 2026.
TCT® Shark Tank Innovation Competition
Enter the Shark Tank! The annual TCT conference is the preeminent platform for concept-stage presentations of novel technologies in interventional cardiovascular medicine. Submit concept-stage novel technologies in interventional cardiovascular medicine for a chance to present to a panel of expert judges and compete for an award of US$200,000, provided by the Jon DeHaan Foundation.
Submission of technologies at different stages of development is encouraged. The TCT® Innovation Program Development Committee strives to find appropriate placement in the program for as many eligible submissions as possible. A small subset of submissions will be considered for and offered participation in the TCT® Shark Tank Innovation Competition. Your submission must be relevant to the monitoring, diagnosis, or treatment of coronary, endovascular, or structural heart disease and meet all three of the following criteria:
- Addresses an unmet clinical need
- Has preliminary patent application filed
- Includes preclinical or early human clinical data
Submission Guidelines
- Submit 15-20 PowerPoint slides covering aspects of the technology.
- Describe clinical indication for innovative device or technology.
- Character limit: 2,450, including spaces.
Notification
Accepted presenters will be notified in mid-September.
Deadline to submit to this category has passed.
Late-Breaking Clinical Trials and Science / First-in-Human and Early Feasibility Studies
Late-Breaking Clinical Trials and Science Are Typically:
- First-time presentations of first-in-human experiences with novel devices or drug
- Primary or important secondary endpoint results of prospective randomized clinical trial
- Large-scale, impactful single-/multicenter observational studies/registries
Nonqualifying Submissions
Please note that the following rarely qualify as late-breaking clinical trial submissions and instead should be submitted as abstracts or innovation:
- Preclinical studies
- Early first-in-human device studies
- Meta-analyses
Submission Guidelines
-
Total character limit: 3,250, including spaces. Each image reduces your character limit by 600. Each table reduces your character limit by 300. Character limits on each component of your submission are as follows:
- Primary endpoints: 550-character limit
- Secondary endpoints: 550-character limit
- Funding sources: 500 character limit
- File format: .png or .jpg files only
If Your Submission Is Accepted
- You will present it at TCT 2026.
- You must commit to providing your presentation slides a week prior to the conference.
- It will be featured in the press conferences scheduled for the same day.
Note About Submission Categories
- If you are uncertain about whether your research qualifies for LBCT/S consideration, please also submit it as an abstract. Doing so will not diminish your chances for LBCT/S selection, but will enhance the possibility of your work being presented at TCT 2026.
- Please check the relevant box on the submission site to indicate if you have submitted the same work to both categories.
Embargo
The content of accepted late-breaking clinical trials and science is strictly embargoed until time of presentation.
Notification
Accepted presenters will be notified in mid-September.
Deadline to submit to this category has passed.
Don’t miss out on the chance to gain invaluable
connections, insights, and recognition
that will elevate your career to new heights!
Frequently Asked Questions
If you are the presenting author of an accepted Scientific Abstract or Challenging Case, you are required to register for the meeting.
To reset your Call for Science password, please log in and select the FORGOT PASSWORD option.
Yes, entries must be original research but may include portions of abstracts and/or manuscripts presented elsewhere.
Yes, you can make changes to your submission at any time before the submission deadline.
This conference is exclusively an in-person event, and virtual participation is not offered.
Please note that only one Call for Science email account should be used. Kindly refrain from using or creating multiple accounts.
Unfortunately, we are unable to accept submissions after the final submission deadline has elapsed.
Manage your submission on the CRF® submission site. You can add authors or update information within the authors' profiles by visiting your submission and selecting the AUTHORS tab. To designate a new presenter or author, simply check the PRESENTER box next to the respective name.
To update your profile, go to the TCTMD® profile page and follow the prompts.