Christina Harter-Felszeghy, co-creator of the amazing winner of our International Day of Radiology cake competition explains the inspiration and production of the winning cake. Don’t miss the photo gallery at the bottom of this post.

My Father, Dr. Scott Harter, is a radiologist and Chief of Radiology Consultants in Little Rock (Arkansas, USA) and I am a confectioner. While researching how Radiology Consultants could celebrate IDoR 2016, Radiology Consultants’ social media manager came across a post about the ESR’s Cake Competition on the International Day of Radiology website. My father and I volunteered to design and bake a cake to share with the group, thinking it would be a wonderful way to celebrate this special day! It turned out to be a truly unique project.

The winning cake (cross section)

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Over the last few years we have seen more and more people getting into the spirit of the International Day of Radiology (IDoR), holding parties and get-togethers around the world. In the photographs of these celebrations there is often a delicious looking cake, so this year we decided to encourage this as much as possible by launching the IDoR Cake Competition, with a grand prize of free registration for the European Congress of Radiology 2017, along with two nights hotel accommodation.

We received lots of submissions, but below is our jury’s selection of the most original and creative entries. Please vote for your favourite – the cake with the most votes at 12:00 (CET) on November 16 will be our winner!

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An interview with Joanna Fairhurst, consultant paediatric radiologist at the children’s radiology department of the University Hospitals of Southampton.

European Society of Radiology: What is paediatric imaging? What age are the patients, and how is it different from regular imaging?
Joanna Fairhurst: Paediatric imaging covers all imaging modalities – plain films, ultrasound, fluoroscopy, computed tomography (CT), nuclear medicine, magnetic resonance (MRI) – undertaken in children ranging from new-born infants to those who are sixteen, or in some centres eighteen, years old. Imaging patients in this age range poses some very specific challenges. First, coming to the hospital can be a very frightening experience for young children, and we need to adapt our techniques to help children feel as secure and comfortable as possible, and we often employ distraction and play therapy to reduce their anxiety and help them cooperate with their examinations. We also try to create a child-friendly environment, by decorating our department and providing toys, but the best way to make our young patients feel at ease is to have radiographers and radiologists who are experienced in, and enjoy working with children.

Joanna Fairhurst is a consultant paediatric radiologist at the children’s radiology department of the University Hospitals of Southampton

The next main difference between paediatric and adult radiology is that we have to be familiar with the imaging appearances of the developing patient – from pre-term infant to adolescent – including many normal developmental variants. We also have to deal with many diseases and pathologies that are specific to children. Unlike other subspecialties within imaging, although some do specialise, most paediatric radiologists are involved with all modalities and all body systems.
Finally, when we image children, we not only have to communicate with young people: very often we also have to interact with their parents and carers, so we must learn to respond to their concerns and needs as well.

ESR: Since when has paediatric imaging been a specialty in its own right?
JF: It could be argued that paediatric radiology is the oldest imaging specialty, dating back to the use of x-rays and the interpretation of the images produced in children’s hospitals in the early 1900s. Many people, however, consider Dr. John Caffey (1985–1978) as the ‘founder’ of paediatric radiology after he published his book Pediatric X-Ray Diagnosis in 1945. Paediatric imaging gained broader recognition in the United States with the founding of the Society for Pediatric Radiology in 1958, and came of age in Europe with the creation of the European Society of Paediatric Radiology in 1963.

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guest post by Benjamin Taragin

I have always been fascinated by LEGO®. There is something soothing about raking the pile with your hands, trying to find the perfect piece to complete your next build. It was with this mindset that I was helping my son, Yoni, build one of his projects (clearly there is no pleasure in this for me ;)). As we were working with the LEGO pieces, I came across a curved semicircular piece and realised that it reminded me of the bore opening of an MRI. With that thought in my head, my son and I began to build our initial LEGO MRI model. After building it, I realised that this might actually be useful for our child life division at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, spearheaded by Susan Frank and Meghan Kelly, to use when prepping patients for MRI. While many simulators exist on the market, some large and some small, none are built with the basic blocks of childhood. Additionally, its small size and portability allows it to be carried around the hospital in a regular work bag.

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Dear Friends,

To mark the International Day of Radiology, which this year is focusing on paediatric imaging, we are presenting chest radiographs of a 5-year-old boy with an abdominal mass and mild fever. A Wilm’s tumour was suspected. Check the images below, leave your thoughts in the comments section and come back for the answer on Friday.

Diagnosis.

1. Pleural tumour in fissure
2. Pneumonia
3. Metastases
4. None of the above

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The ESR spoke with Manuela Messmer-Wullen, president of the Austrian Stroke Self-Help Association (SHÖ) and liaison officer for the Stroke Alliance for Europe (SAFE), about the long-term effects of stroke, how it can be prevented and how imaging can help provide a crucial time-saving diagnosis.

ESR: What is the overall aim of your organisation in Austria and what exactly do you do to achieve this goal?

Manuela Messmer-Wullen: Our mission is to inform the public about the burden of stroke, inform them on how to prevent stroke and support those who have been affected by stroke with information regarding their rehabilitation. We also provide support for carers, as well as information on where to find the right rehabilitation facilities, medical support, access to treatments, etc. We lobby, in general, for a better situation for stroke patients and their carers, to give them all a voice in the Austrian healthcare system. I do this work on a voluntary basis, without financial support from the state; projects are financed by individual funders. My personal investment of knowledge, time, energy and power is made in an effort to give stroke patients and their carers a better quality of life in Austria.

ESR: How many members do you have? Who are they?

MMW: In several Austrian states there are different groups run by individuals, therapeutic staff and medical professionals. SHÖ is the umbrella organisation for stroke patients and its membership is made up from many different patient groups who support their members across the country and within different fields.

Manuela Messmer-Wullen, president of the Austrian Stroke Self-Help Association (SHÖ) and liaison officer for the Stroke Alliance for Europe (SAFE)

ESR: Stroke affects an increasing number of people worldwide. Do you think current Austrian health policies are well suited to tackling the issue?

MMW: Not at all, there is no special information pointing out that stroke itself is a brain attack. Stroke is often obscured by the term ‘cardiovascular disease’. This term is used by the media for simplicity and much of the public is unaware that it includes stroke. It would be more helpful to use the individual terms, stroke and heart attack more often. The public has to be informed about the danger of stroke and its possible consequences, like disability. Stroke affects the brain and can damage a lot of functions. Most people have no idea about these facts. Once they have this basic information about stroke, we can start educating them on how to prevent it. Stroke is the only brain disease that can, in certain circumstances, be prevented. People need to be informed of the necessary lifestyle changes.

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The ESR spoke with Donna Walsh, executive director of the European Federation of Neurological Associations (EFNA) about how her organisation supports patients with brain disorders and how well patients are informed about the role of radiology in neurology.

European Society of Radiology: What is the overall aim of your organisation and what exactly do you do to achieve this goal?

Donna Walsh: The European Federation of Neurological Associations (EFNA) is an umbrella group representing pan-European neurology patient groups. Our slogan, ‘empowering patient neurology groups,’ encapsulates our goals as an association. We strive to add capacity to our members, allowing them to be the most effective advocates possible in their own disease-specific areas. EFNA embraces the concept of partnership for progress: working at a high level with relevant stakeholders from the fields of policy, medical, scientific/research, industry, patient partners and other key opinion leaders.

Donna Walsh, executive director of the European Federation of Neurological Associations

ESR: How many patient organisations do you represent? How many members do you have? Who are they?

DW: EFNA is an umbrella organisation comprising 19 predominantly pan-European disease-specific neurology patient organisations. These are Dystonia Europe, Euro-Ataxia, European Alliance for Restless Legs Syndrome (EARLS), European Alliance of Neuromuscular Disorders Associations (EAMDA), European Headache Alliance (EHA), European Huntington’s Federation (EHF), European Multiple Sclerosis Platform (EMSP), European Myasthenia Gravis Association (EuMGA), European Network for Research in Alternating Hemiplegia in Childhood (ENRAH), European Polio Union, European Sexual Health Alliance (ESHA), Guillain-Barre & Associated Inflammatory Neuropathies (GAIN), International Brain Tumour Alliance (IBTA), International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE), Motor Neurone Disease Association (MND) – Europe, Pain Alliance Europe (PAE), Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Association – Europe (PSP-Europe), Stroke Alliance for Europe (SAFE) , Trigeminal Neuralgia Association UK. As you can see, there are also some national organisations who are associate members and some international groups, in the absence of a pan-European association.

ESR: What are the most common brain diseases in Europe?

DW: Brain disorders are very common and will affect one in three of us during our lifetime. They range from very prevalent disorders such as migraine (affecting up to 15% of the population) to very rare disorders. Most people will have heard of multiple sclerosis, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, stroke, etc. But people often forget that sleep, mood, anxiety, addiction and eating disorders are also disorders of the brain. So brain disorders range from the genetic to the degenerative to the muscular and beyond!

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ESR staff writer Mélisande Rouger was in Madrid on November 8 and took the chance to catch up with members of the Spanish Society of Medical Radiology (SERAM) celebrating the International Day of Radiology.

Fans of medical imaging celebrated the 2nd International Day of Radiology (IDoR) on November 8, with many events taking place all over the world. More than 100 radiology-related societies observed the day and organised their own events, including SERAM, who held a well attended public event at the headquarters of the Spanish Association Against Cancer, in Madrid.

IDoR, which was launched by the European Society of Radiology (ESR), the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and the American College of Radiology (ACR) last year, aims to bring radiology closer to the public. This year’s theme was lung imaging, and Spanish radiologists provided clues on how to highlight the role of the radiologist in lung disease management in their lectures last Friday.

From left to right: Dr. Inmaculada Herráez Ortega, Dr. Angel Gayete Cara, Ms. Elena Serrano García, Dr. Joaquin Ferreiros Dominguez, Dr. Carmen Ayuso Colella, Dr. Eva Castañer Gonzalez and Dr. Jesus De La Torre Fernandez.
Photo courtesy of SERAM.

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The International Day of Radiology (IDoR) takes place in just a couple of days’ time, on November 8, and this year the focus is on lung imaging. The ESR chose to approach this theme by creating a book on the subject, with the help of the European Society of Thoracic Imaging (ESTI), which will be published to coincide with this year’s IDoR.

ESTI board members, including several contributors to the forthcoming book, gathered in Vienna recently to discuss plans for their society, so we took the opportunity to ask them why it is necessary to inform the public of the importance of radiology in healthcare.

“Doctors form a team, and in this team radiologists are a very important group, but their role is not so well known. A lot of people think that we are only photographers, but we have a crucial role in making a diagnosis. It’s important for the public to know what role we play,” said Doctor Eva CastaÑer González, a radiologist working at the Corporació Parc Taulí in Sabadell, Spain.

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In the course of preparing a book on lung imaging that will be published to mark the International Day of Radiology (IDoR), the ESR spoke to Nicola Bedlington, executive director of the European Patients’ Forum (EPF), who shared her views on healthcare in the EU and explained why she chose to participate in IDoR 2013.

ESR: 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 patients’ 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 patients’ 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.

Nicola Bedlington, executive director of the European Patients’ Forum (EPF)

ESR: What exactly does your organisation do to meet this aim?

NB: The EPF helps to empower patients’ 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.

ESR: Your organisation has experience working with various chronic disease groups. Do many patients suffer from chronic diseases in the EU?

NB: 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.

ESR: 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 patient care be promoted in this context?

NB: 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 patients’ 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.

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