In the world of health awareness, the pink ribbon is probably one of the best known symbols there is. Supporters of charities and organisations promoting breast cancer awareness have been wearing the pink ribbon since 1992, when it was adopted as the official symbol of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the US. Since then, the pink ribbon has gone global, and is recognised as a symbol of support for breast cancer awareness in countries all around the world.

As the most common cause of cancer death among females worldwide, breast cancer is naturally always a part of the programme at the European Congress of Radiology. So to mark Pink Ribbon Day, we decided to pick out a few key sessions from our ECR On Demand archive, to highlight the vital role that medical imaging plays in the detection, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of breast cancer.

Watch the preview below and follow the links underneath to gain access to full lectures on our ECR On Demand platform.

Watch an extra long ECR on Demand preview clip about breast imaging:

Imaging after treatment of breast cancer – E³ 220, A 003 (M.H. Fuchsjäger)

Or check out the selected related lecture recordings below:

CC 1618 – Follow-up of local treatments of breast cancer:
Watch the whole ECR on Demand lectures here.

E3 420b – Mammography:
Watch the whole ECR on Demand lectures here.

E3 530b – Breast US:
Watch the whole ECR on Demand lectures here.

E3 620 – MRI of the breast:
Watch the whole ECR on Demand lectures here.

E3 720b – Image-guided breast biopsy:
Watch the whole ECR on Demand lectures here.

E3 820c – Multidisciplinary team meeting from Milan, IT:
Watch the whole ECR on Demand lectures here.

E2 920b – How to report:
Watch the whole ECR on Demand lectures here.

 

 

CC 718 – Imaging after systemic therapies: the standards, A-187 A. RECIST criteria (Y. Menu)

A short preview of lecture CC 718 ‘Imaging after systemic therapies: the standards’, from the session A-187 ‘A. RECIST criteria’ at ECR 2014, given by Y. Menu from Paris, France.

Watch the whole lecture and many more at http://ipp.myESR.org
Direct link: http://bit.ly/Imaging_after_systemic_…

 

Friday, March 7, 16:00 – 17:30 / Room Conf. Room M3

Abstract:

The routine practice of oncologic imaging requires standardisation, which means that we need to harmonise technical protocols and agree on the meaning of selected words for the radiological report. The words “Response, “Progression” and “Stable disease” are precisely defined according to internationally accepted thresholds and criteria. Although the rules are quite simple and rather easy to apply, they are very efficient in the classification of the response to treatment, and therefore for the medical decisions. However, the role of the radiologist is not limited to measurements and calculation. The detection of new lesions may be challenging and requires experience. The differential between cancer progression and complications of the treatment might be very difficult and requires an adequate communication with the referring clinician. Overall, most of the decisions taken by the clinician will be related to imaging results, stressing the importance of adequate protocols and reports.

Dear Friends,

Muppet is very excited because case 100 is only two weeks away. In the meantime, he wants to present a simple case that we saw one month ago. The radiographs below belong to a 53-year-old man with cough and fever. What do you see?

Leave your thoughts in the comments and come back on Friday for the answer.

Read more…

Dear Friends,

Today I am presenting pre-op chest films of a 48-year-old man with renal carcinoma. How will you define the lesion at the right cardiophrenic angle?

1. Benign nodule
2. Primary malignancy
3. Metastatic nodule
4. Can’t tell

Check the images below, leave your answer in the comments and come back on Friday for the answer.

Read more…

With demand for imaging examinations constantly growing and patient radiation exposure rising, the need to improve medical radiation protection has never been greater.

EuroSafe Imaging, a flagship radiation protection initiative launched at ECR 2014, is the ESR’s timely response to this issue. An initial milestone of the campaign was reached with the recent publication of the EuroSafe Imaging Call for Action, an implementation strategy comprising 12 action items to contribute to achieving EuroSafe Imaging’s mission of promoting appropriateness, maintaining radiation doses within diagnostic reference levels, using the ALARA principle, promoting the use of up-to-date equipment, empowering patients, and joining forces with various stakeholders.

This mission is underpinned by two fundamental objectives: raising more awareness of radiation protection, and providing an overarching strategy to coordinate a multitude of stakeholders’ radiation protection efforts.

To capture the reasons for launching this initiative and its expected impact, the ESR has produced a video about EuroSafe Imaging that highlights the comprehensive approach of the campaign, with interviewees representing radiology, radiography, medical physics and international organisations.

Check out the video above to find out why it is important to communicate the various components of radiation protection to a wider audience, how EuroSafe Imaging can contribute to creating a new patient safety paradigm, and why this is just the right time for this initiative!

Don’t forget to join us in promoting patient safety by becoming a Friend of EuroSafe Imaging!

 

Dear Friends,

With your welfare in mind, Muppet has selected this week’s case. Radiographs belong to a 76-year-old woman, admitted to the hospital with moderate fever and vomiting.

Diagnosis:

1. Aspiration pneumonia
2. Tracheomegaly and pneumonia
3. Pneumonia and pericarditis
4. None of the above

Read more…

Nicola Bedlington is executive director of the European Patients’ Forum (EPF) and chairperson of the ESR’s Patient Advisory Group for Medical Imaging (PAGMI). The goal of PAGMI is to bring together patients, the public and imaging professionals in order to positively influence advances in the field of medical imaging to the benefit of European patients. The group has contributed to the International Day of Radiology, which aims to raise public awareness of the benefits of medical imaging and has promoted the ESR’s patient information website. We asked Ms. Bedlington for her views on healthcare in the EU and why she chose to participate in the International Day of Radiology.

What is the overall aim of your organisation?
Nicola Bedlington: Our vision is high quality, patient-centred and equitable healthcare for all patients throughout the European Union. The European Patients’ Forum is an umbrella organisation that works with patient groups in public health and health advocacy across Europe. Our members represent specific chronic disease groups at EU level, or are national coalitions of patients. We currently represent almost 60 such organisations. Our mission is to be the collective patients’ voice at EU level, manifesting the solidarity, power and unity of the EU patients’ movement, and to provide a strong and united voice in order to put patients at the centre of EU health policy and programmes. In this regard we are the key interlocutor with EU institutions on cross-cutting issues affecting all patients.

What exactly does your organisation do to meet this aim?
Nicola Bedlington: The EPF helps to empower patient organisations through educational seminars, policy initiatives and projects. We coordinate best practice exchanges between patient organisations at European and national levels. Our programmes also help to strengthen organisational and advocacy capacity.

Your organisation has experience working with various chronic disease groups. Do many patients suffer from chronic diseases in the EU?
Nicola Bedlington: Following consultation with our members we estimate there are at least 150 million patients with chronic conditions across the European Union. This figure is likely to increase given the ageing population.

Many EU countries face significant health budget cuts, leading to shorter hospital stays and less access to modern equipment (i.e. long waiting lists for MRI exams). How can better patient care be promoted?
Nicola Bedlington: The EPF is working with its member organisations to ensure health is seen as an investment, and patients are not perceived as purely cost drivers. Major health inequalities exist across the EU which impact enormously on patient access to care. Building on the three pillars of quality information, health literacy and empowerment, patients can be agents of change and sources of innovation, particularly in terms of equity and sustainability of care. There need to be meaningful opportunities for patient involvement throughout the healthcare sector. We promote meaningful patient involvement in all forms of innovation, whether it is in high or low technology, pharmaceuticals, information technology, social change or systems change. The patient community seeks partnerships with researchers, policy-makers and industry in order to achieve greater impact in this arena.
Read more…

Dear Friends,

Today I am showing chest radiographs of a 78-year-old woman with moderate dyspnoea. Check the images below, leave your thoughts and diagnosis in the comments, and come back on Friday for the answer.

Diagnosis:

1. Mitral valve calcification
2. Pericardial calcification
3. Calcified ventricular aneurysm
4. None of the above

Read more…

 

Dear Friends,

Muppet wants to start the new season with a warm-up case, provided by my good friend and former resident Carles Vilá. Images belong to a 62-year-old woman who has had a dry cough for the last six months. Chest radiograph was normal and a CT was taken.

Diagnosis:

1. Coin
2. Chicken bone
3. Pencil lead
4. None of the above

Read more…

Sessions will look different at ECR 2015, to help participants make the most of the scientific and educational programme. ECR Today spoke with Professor Bernd Hamm from Berlin, Germany, who will preside over the congress next year, to find out what the biggest radiological meeting in Europe and the most modern one worldwide will look like in 2015.

ESR Office: What will be the main highlights of ECR 2015’s teaching programme?
Bernd Hamm: One of the major changes will be a restructuring of the session categories. Over the last few years, we kept adding new types of sessions, making it difficult for participants to find the sessions they are interested in and compile an efficient individual schedule. Apart from the Refresher Courses, which have become well established and accepted, we now offer most teaching courses under the heading of E³ – European Excellence in Education. These courses are now structured according to the different levels defined by the European Training Curriculum for Radiology. The E³ programme consists of the following five branches, which reflect the different levels of education in radiology, as well as the different stages of an individual’s professional career: Rising Stars, European Diploma Prep Sessions, The Beauty of Basic Knowledge, ECR Academies, and ECR Master Classes.

The Rising Stars programme is directed at medical students with an interest in radiology, residents, and radiographers in training. The European Diploma Prep Sessions aim to provide preparatory sessions for future European Diploma in Radiology (EDiR) candidates. The content of the programme reflects level I and II of the European Training Curriculum. These courses are held in close cooperation with the European Board of Radiology (EBR). The Beauty of Basic Knowledge programme focuses on knowledge essential to the daily practice of radiology and is best suited to residents and board-certified radiologists. The ECR Academies consist of a series of sessions relevant to a particular area of radiology, and may be suited to general radiologists and radiologists with a subspecialisation. The content of ECR Academies mostly corresponds to level III of the European Training Curriculum. The ECR Master Classes are designed for participants and subspecialists seeking cutting-edge information in specific field of interest. During the ECR, one ECR Master Class is offered for each subspecialty in radiology (level III and beyond). This new structure of a major part of the teaching courses offered at the ECR results from intense exchange and excellent cooperation between the Congress Programme Planning Committee members.

ESR: What will the ECR Academies focus on?
BH: The ECR Academies in 2015 will focus on the new hot issues, such as hybrid imaging, image-guided interventions in oncology, and modern imaging of the GI tract. In addition, there will be sessions covering genitourinary radiology and our popular interactive teaching sessions focusing on different aspects of radiology.

Read more…