The current status of radiological clinical audit and feedback on the ESR Guide to Clinical Audit in Radiology and the ESR Clinical Audit Tool (Esperanto) – an ESR Survey of European Radiology Departments

Clinical audit “according to national procedures” is a legal requirement as defined within the recently implemented European Council Basic Safety Standards Directive (BSSD), 2013/59/Euratom. A survey was undertaken in 2019 to assess the current status of clinical audit in European radiology departments and for feedback on the recently published “ESR Guide to Clinical Audit in Radiology” and the “ESR Clinical Audit Tool (Esperanto)”. The survey was distributed within the European Society of Radiology (ESR) EuroSafe Imaging Star network and also to European national radiological societies which are institutional members of the ESR

Strategic research agenda for biomedical imaging

This Strategic Research Agenda identifies current challenges and needs in healthcare, illustrates how biomedical imaging and derived data can help to address these, and aims to stimulate dedicated research funding efforts. Medicine is currently moving towards a more tailored, patient-centric approach by providing personalised solutions for the individual patient. Innovation in biomedical imaging plays a key role in this process as it addresses the current needs for individualised prevention, treatment, therapy response monitoring, and image-guided surgery. The use of non-invasive biomarkers facilitates better therapy prediction and monitoring, leading to improved patient outcomes. Innovative diagnostic imaging technologies provide information about disease characteristics which, coupled with biological, genetic and -omics data, will contribute to an individualised diagnosis and therapy approach. In the emerging field of theranostics, imaging tools together with therapeutic agents enable the selection of best treatments and allow tailored therapeutic interventions. For prenatal monitoring, the use of innovative imaging technologies can ensure an early detection of malfunctions or disease. The application of biomedical imaging for diagnosis and management of lifestyle-induced diseases will help to avoid disease development through lifestyle changes. Artificial intelligence and machine learning in imaging will facilitate the improvement of image interpretation and lead to better disease prediction and therapy planning. As biomedical imaging technologies and analysis of existing imaging data provide solutions to current challenges and needs in healthcare, appropriate funding for dedicated research is needed to implement the innovative approaches for the wellbeing of citizens and patients

Collaboration, campaigns and champions for appropriate imaging: feedback from the Zagreb workshop

Leading radiologists and representatives from national radiation protection regulatory authorities and health ministries from 19 countries of the European region worked together with five experts at the workshop on justification and appropriate use of imaging in Zagreb, Croatia, from 26 to 28 October 2017 jointly organised by the IAEA and the European Society of Radiology. The workshop served as a forum to exchange information on challenges and solutions for improving justification and the appropriate use of diagnostic imaging. Common barriers to improving the use of imaging referral guidelines were discussed and the need for increased collaboration identified. Examples of good practices were presented, including use of Clinical Decision Support (CDS) systems to facilitate rapid and good justification decisions. The workshop identified some of the needs of European countries for achieving more appropriate imaging proposing wider use of collaboration, campaigns and champions. ---- MAIN MESSAGES: • Drivers for appropriate imaging in Europe are similar to those elsewhere globally. • Implementing imaging referral guidelines is the main barrier to more appropriate imaging. • Clinical Decision Support systems (CDS) facilitates good referral practice and justification decisions. • Collaboration, campaigns and champions may improve awareness, appropriateness and audit

Imaging referral guidelines in Europe: now and in the future-EC

As an integral part of the European Commission (EC) Imaging Referral Guidelines Project a 1.5-day workshop was held in Vienna on 20-21 September, 2012. At this workshop, models and good practices regarding the appropriateness and use of imaging referral guidelines (Guidelines) in Europe and worldwide were presented, together with the results of a survey of Guidelines in Europe. The latter included ideas, innovations and wishes for future Community action.MAIN MESSAGES: Recommendations for future Community action: Stronger measures should be taken by the EC and the European competent authorities for making Guidelines available and used in all EU member states. Evidence-based Guidelines with separate guidance for children should be issued or endorsed by a trusted European organisation. Educational initiatives and electronic requesting in connection with clinical decision support (CDS) systems should be used to improve the implementation of Guidelines. Monitoring of Guidelines implementation and use should be by clinical audit, particularly external audit, but also by local/internal audit

MEDIRAD formulation of science-based recommendations for medical radiation protection: a stakeholder forum survey

MEDIRAD (Implications of Medical Low Dose Radiation Exposure) is an innovative European research project funded by EURATOM which seeks to bring closer together the nuclear and medical research communities in order to advance science for radiation protection in radiotherapy, nuclear medicine, and diagnostic and interventional radiology. The project also aims to promote links between science and society, with the goal of better protecting patients and professionals, through the publication of recommendations based on MEDIRAD research findings (http://www.medirad-project.eu

THE FULL SIMULATION OF THE GLAST LAT HIGH ENERGY GAMMA RAY TELESCOPE

The GLAST LAT telescope, expected to fly in 2007, will detect gamma-ray photons in the energy band from 30 MeV to 300 GeV. Its performance has been recently studied in detail using a full instrument simulation based on Geant4. The GLAST LAT simulation, digitization and reconstruction process are described in detail. The instrument simulation has been recently used to obtain a full week gamma-ray sky to test the prototype of the science analysis software