Prof. LLuís Donoso-Bach is chairman of the diagnostic imaging department at the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona and professor of radiology at the University of Barcelona. A true leader in European radiology, he has tackled many areas of radiology practice, including liver imaging, digital imaging, IT use in diagnostic radiology, and product development. He has also held the reins of the European Society of Radiology, serving as its president from 2015 to 2016, and sat on various ESR and ECR committees for many years.

Donoso, who is the newly appointed president of the International Society of Radiology, believes the future has much in store for radiology, as he explained ahead of receiving the ESR Gold Medal, the highest honour bestowed by the society, today at the ECR.

Prof. LLuís Donoso-Bach from Barcelona, a former ESR President, will receive the ESR Gold Medal, the highest honour bestowed by the society, today at the ECR.

The role of the radiologist, once marginal in healthcare, has become central in the provision of care, with the introduction of technologies like CT, MR, and interventional radiology. “You won’t find a single health facility running without an imaging department today. A patient hardly ever leaves the hospital without having had at least one imaging examination,” Donoso said.

Radiology has struck a balance between the technology and the clinic. It has become a strong discipline, which must continue to get closer to the patient by getting more involved in treatment and prevention, not just diagnostics, if it is to keep on growing.

Radiologists must go beyond detecting lesions and interpreting images, because machines already perform these tasks better than humans. “This role will be put in question in the years to come. I don’t see, in the near future, any possibility for reading images that haven’t already been pre-processed by a computer assisted detection and interpretation system.”

The radiologist’s role will rather be to answer clinical questions by integrating the imaging information together with clinical information, and putting it all in context.

Radiologists must include more information in their reports, from genomics and fields other than imaging, and not just issue recommendations. To continue to grow, radiologists must become more than radiologists and convert into “experts in imaging information,” Donoso believes. Read more…

Anna-Maria Belli, Professor of Interventional Radiology at St. George’s Hospital in London, UK, will be presented with the Gold Medal of the European Society of Radiology today. Ahead of the ceremony, she shared her views on which directions interventional radiology should take.

Interventional radiology (IR) procedures initially broke into the field of peripheral arterial disease by opening up blocked arteries and establishing angioplasty as a valid, alternative, minimally invasive therapy for those either unfit or unsuitable for standard bypass surgery. It has now become an accepted therapy, replacing open surgery in many situations and responsible for saving limbs from amputation.

IR specialist Prof. Anna-Maria Belli from London will receive the ESR Gold Medal during the ECR 2019 Grand Opening today at 17:45 in Room A.

As experience and skill with arterial catheterisation advanced, so did arterial embolisation, which is used with the opposite intention from angioplasty by selectively occluding arteries. Initially this was an emergency procedure used to treat life-threatening haemorrhage, making it difficult to train in. However, with its expanded indication in the treatment of vascular tumours, it has become a common elective procedure and it has been one of Belli’s special areas of research during the four decades in which she has practised as an interventional radiologist. “Embolisation is now an alternative treatment which may replace standard surgical options, e.g. in the treatment of fibroids and benign prostatic hyperplasia,” she said.

Non-vascular interventional radiology has also grown in leaps and bounds, particularly in the management of cancer with interventional oncology. “The new technologies being introduced into interventional oncology are amongst the most exciting developments and indicate a very strong future for IR,” she believes. Read more…

Michael Grace Kawooya is a Professor of Radiology at the Ernest Cook Ultrasound Research and Education Institute and Professor Emeritus at the Makerere University College of Health Sciences in Kampala, Uganda. He has done much for the development of radiology in his country and the rest of Africa, but says efforts must continue to increase the number of radiologists and range of equipment, and to raise awareness of radiation safety. Kawooya believes Africa can learn a lot from European advances. His contributions to improving bilateral cooperation will be rewarded today as he receives ESR Honorary Membership.

Professor Michael G. Kawooya’s contributions to improving bilateral cooperation between Africa and Europe will be rewarded today as he receives ESR Honorary Membership.

ECR Today: How much has radiology advanced in Uganda?

Michael Grace Kawooya: Back in the late 1980s, radiology was very new to medical practice in Uganda, and its contribution to healthcare was not well understood. It was not given priority and was underfunded. There were only two radiologists in the country when I finished my residency and we were overwhelmed with work. Doctors were not willing to undertake radiology residency, fearing that radiologists didn’t earn much. Equipment was scanty and often malfunctioning. Many of these challenges still exist today, but to a lesser extent. Radiology is better understood and its role is now evident. The number or radiologists has increased to almost 70. This year alone, 20 doctors took up radiology residency. The number and range of equipment has also increased.

ECRT: Are there any regional trends in radiology in Africa?

MGK: The same challenges facing radiology in Uganda bedevil most of Africa, but North Africa, which is largely Arabic, and South Africa, which is wealthier, face fewer challenges. In these parts of Africa, radiology has flourished more compared to Central, East, and West Africa. The radiologist-to-population ratio is approximately 1:67,000 in Egypt, 1:1,600,000 in Uganda and 1: 8,000,000 in Malawi. The more affluent regions have higher numbers and range as well as sophistication of imaging equipment. They have more radiology training institutions and undertake more research. Read more…

Vijay M. Rao, MD, FACR is the David C. Levin Professor and Chair of the department of radiology at Thomas Jefferson University. She is also senior vice-president of Enterprise Radiology, Jefferson Health, and the immediate past president of the Radiological Society of North America. As she receives ESR Honorary Membership today, she looks back on 30 years of work in a field she describes as globally united.

Radiology has come a long way from the days of plain film hypocycloidal tomography in head and neck imaging, a subspecialty to which Prof. Rao has dedicated most of her career. Technological innovations such as ultrasound, CT, MRI and PET have revolutionised the field, allowing for earlier diagnosis and greater insights into the pathophysiology of a host of diseases and conditions.

Professor Vijay M. Rao from Philadelphia, immediate past president of the RSNA, will receive ESR Honorary Membership today during the Grand Opening.

Radiology continues to evolve from anatomic to more physiologic and functional assessment of disease processes, with more precise quantification and minimally invasive therapeutic options.

Rapid technological advances have led to tremendous growth in radiology along with associated costs. But the digital age has introduced a number of previously non-existent opportunities to transform radiology practice, using tools powered by informatics and machine learning (ML). “Radiologists should explore ways to utilise these technological advances to add value and reduce waste in healthcare,” she said.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and ML applications are valuable tools that make radiologists more effective and increase their contributions to personalised and precision medicine. “AI can assist radiologists at a time when we are challenged to provide imaging services that are faster, safer and affordable, as well as information that is quantitative and precise. These new technologies will improve workflows in our daily practice, freeing up time for us to better position ourselves as integral members of the patient’s healthcare team,” she said.

The move toward value-based imaging continues to be the biggest trend in the US, where emphasis is placed on volume when structuring radiology practice. “Policymakers lack understanding of imaging’s contribution to patient care and the extent of services that radiologists provide. That is why we have begun the necessary transition to a value-based model of care, where radiologists are actively consulting with patients and their referring physicians as part of the healthcare team,” she explained. Read more…

Welcome to the 25th ECR in Vienna!

Thanks for coming to be a part of ‘the bigger picture’!

By Lorenzo E. Derchi, ESR President

ECR 2019 marks an important anniversary. This will be the 25^th ECR congress held in Vienna since 1991: a great achievement! Those who have been coming here since the beginning will find a meeting that has become bigger over the years, now including not only the Austria Center, but also many of the buildings surrounding it.

It is a true ‘congress city’, which has grown to accommodate the increasing numbers of delegates from all over the world. Those who are here for the first time will discover a congress with a wide range of opportunities to learn about the different aspects of our specialty, with sessions suited to all, from beginners to advanced professionals.

ESR President Prof. Lorenzo E. Derchi is Head of the Department of Radiology at the University of Genoa, Italy.

Over the years, the ECR has provided radiologists with a European platform for the presentation of research and debate and has been the key to the creation of a community of people working together and advancing in science and education together. This has been the result of the efforts of 24 Congress Presidents and Programme Planning Committees who, with the help of the well-structured and dedicated efforts of the ESR Scientific Programme Department, have worked as in a relay team, passing the baton from one to the next and ensuring continuity of aims and good results over the years.

The ECR has always been a creative meeting. It started with a ‘classical’ structure, made up of refresher courses, scientific presentations and posters, and, over the years, has incorporated various new ways for contributors to present scientific work. The first big innovation was in 2003, with the introduction of the electronic posters of EPOS. Then, in 2016, came the new session format ‘the Voice of Epos’ in which the scientific message of selected posters could be explained in person by their authors. Last year, the ‘MyT3’ presentations, the lounge meetings of ‘Coffee & Talk’ and the hands-on approach to interventional radiology of ‘the Cube’ were introduced. All these session formats have proven successful and will be continued, and even expanded, this year. Furthermore, an additional new session type will be launched, not only for ECR delegates, but also open to anyone who is interested in joining in. The ‘Women in Focus’ initiative will explore the challenges encountered by women in our field and in other medical and medical-related professions. It will open a debate over gender parity in our profession and will try to present role models to whom the ever-increasing number of women entering into radiology can relate. Read more…

Professor Federico G. Lubinus is full professor of radiology and director of the radiology residency programme at the autonomous university of Bucaramanga (UNAB) in Colombia. He is one of the leaders in South American radiology and he believes that bringing back ultrasound to the heart of radiological practice is key to the future growth of the specialty. His efforts will be acknowledged today as he receives ESR Honorary Membership.

When it comes to radiology, South America has very similar challenges to the rest of the world and a number of regional trends, Lubinus explained. “Big workloads, turf battles with other medical specialties, and challenges imposed by teleradiology and artificial intelligence are some of the many difficulties we have to deal with, not only as radiological societies but also as radiologists wondering about the role of the specialty in the near future,” he said.

Professor Federico G. Lubinus, who will receive ESR Honorary Membership at today’s Grand Opening, is one of the leaders in South American radiology.

But radiology practice in the continent is uneven and a major difference concerns radiology training, according to Lubinus, who currently heads the Latin American Educational Forum, a group that brings together radiological societies of South America to develop and advance educational issues in the region. “Training is dependent on the regulations of each country. There is great diversity both in the number of years of study required to be a specialist and in the minimum requirements demanded in each country, which makes it difficult to standardise programmes and perform appropriate evaluation of knowledge,” said Lubinus.

Lubinus is also director of the scientific committee of the Asociación Colombiana de Radiología (ACR), a society he served twice as president. Under his aegis, the ACR worked to have a standardised training programme, a tool that is now recognised by the Colombian ministry of education as the basis for evaluation and certification of radiology graduates, and radiologists who have received their certification abroad.

For the past four years, the Latin American Education Forum has also engaged in developing a standardised academic residency programme as a reference instrument for the validation of qualifications of Latin American radiologists, to improve the much needed certification and recertification in radiology.

Read more…

Professor Valentin Sinitsyn is chair of radiology and head of the radiology department at the medical faculty of Moscow Lomonosov State University, Moscow. A pioneer in cardiac imaging in Russia, he has helped advance the field in his country, but believes there is still much to be done to increase MR and CT use. After 20 years of working to advance the ECR and European radiology, he will receive the ESR Gold Medal today.

Sinitsyn has witnessed the introduction of spiral and multidetector CT, high-field MRI and hybrid imaging, and the development of evidence-based radiology and medicine.

Professor Valentin Sinitsyn from Moscow, a pioneer in cardiac imaging in Russia, will receive the ESR Gold Medal today.

As he graduated from Sechenov Medical University in Moscow in 1984, cardiac CT and MRI did not yet exist. “With the help of these new modalities, radiology penetrated fields where it had never been used before, and the best example is cardiac imaging,” he said.

Sinitsyn started implementing cardiac imaging back in the 1980s and has very fond memories from that time. Although these were also harsh days for the field, he said.

“Most cardiologists and radiologists believed that cardiac MRI and CT were toys that were good for nothing in real clinical practice. I still remember my first case of apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy diagnosed with cardiac MRI in 1987, when nobody could make a correct diagnosis,” he said.

Today he admits to being a little disappointed with the slow penetration of cardiac MRI and CT in Russian clinical practice. The benefits of modern cardiac imaging are well known, but the percentage of cardiac CT and MR examinations in cardiac imaging is just around 1%. “Low reimbursement for such examinations and insufficient knowledge and motivation from both radiologists and cardiologists are mostly to blame for this situation,” he said.

Read more…

10,000 twitter followers?! This is a reason to celebrate!

We have THREE FREE places at ECR 2019 to give away to our fantastic followers.

To be entered into our draw, all you need to do is:

1) Follow the European Society of Radiology’s Twitter account, @myESR (existing followers also qualify)

2) Either like, comment, or re-tweet one of our tweets between now and June 10 (deadline: 23:00 CEST).

All personal* Twitter accounts meeting those two simple criteria will be entered into our random draw for free ECR 2019 registration.

Thanks for following us and good luck!

*Accounts representing companies, societies, institutions or other organisations will not be eligible. Anyone found to use multiple accounts to enter will also be ineligible.
Full terms and conditions of this competition can be found here.