The European Society of Radiology was proud to be represented on a high-level panel during the International Conference on Hybrid Imaging (IPET 2024) hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from 7–11 October 2024 in Vienna, Austria.
The event attracted over 575 in-person attendees from 103 countries at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna in addition to more than 3000 virtual registrants from around the world.
The ESR had the exceptional honour to participate in a panel discussion during the IPET 2024 Opening Ceremony on 7 October jointly with IAEA Director General Rafael M. Grossi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health of the Czech Republic Vlastimil Válek, who is a radiologist by profession, as well as high-ranking representatives from the IAEA, professional bodies and industry. The discussion was moderated by Dr. May Abdel-Wahab, IAEA Director of the Division of Human Health, and addressed the topic of Advancing Medical Imaging: innovations, Challenges, and Collaborations.
In the panel discussion, Prof. Brkljačić, former ESR President and current ESR EuroSafe Imaging Steering Committee Chair, spoke about the ESR’s initiatives to promote collaboration between different stakeholders in medical imaging. He outlined the ESR’s multidisciplinary, integrative approach to drive innovation and tackle today’s global challenges, mentioning the ESR Patient Advisory Group as a role model for collaboration with patients, the EuroSafe Imaging campaign, which assembles radiologists, radiographers, medical physicists and other relevant disciplines with the aim to improve radiation protection, as well as the ESR’s research arm, the European Institute for Biomedical Imaging Research (EIBIR), which involves nuclear medicine specialists in many joint projects.
Other examples Prof. Brkljačić mentioned included the ESR’s involvement in various European Commission stakeholder groups and initiatives (e.g., ehealth) and EU-funded projects addressing professional issues of imaging, radiation protection, quality and safety as well as related policy implementation. He also mentioned the ESR’s leading role in the implementation of large initiatives at European level, such as the European Cancer Imaging initiative, a flagship of the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, and the recent ESR-led Thematic Network on the EU Health Policy Platform, dedicated to advancing precision medicine for cancer patients in Europe through AI-powered imaging. Prof. Brkljačić concluded by pointing out that the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) has traditionally invited partner disciplines and international organisations, especially the IAEA, which has been a particularly important collaboration partner for the ESR in the field of quality and safety.
The longstanding relationship between the ESR and the IAEA was elevated to an even higher level by the signing of Practical Arrangements on cooperation in the area of diagnostic imaging, including hybrid imaging in 2017 for the first time. This collaboration has recently been expanded to include the IAEA Rays of Hope cancer initiative, under which the ESR has provided a number of experts in support of Rays of Hope Anchor Centres.
In addition to his participation in the Opening Ceremony, Prof. Brkljačić gave a presentation on the ESR’s major activities during a working lunch on the Role of Professional Organizations in Advancing Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging on the second day of the Conference.
“Being part of the IPET 2024 was a most gratifying experience. It was encouraging to see the great interest that the advances in radiology as part of hybrid imaging met among the audience. I would like to congratulate the organisers on the huge success of the Conference and extend my gratitude to the IAEA, in particular to Dr. Diana Paez, Head of the Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging Section and one of IPET2024’s Scientific Secretaries, for the opportunity to represent the ESR in such a major event,” Prof. Brkljačić concluded.
The ESR also contributed to the scientific programme of IPET by providing a lecture and an interactive case discussion on lung cancer, delivered by Helmut Prosch, President Elect of the European Society of Thoracic Imaging (ESTI), who also provided a keynote lecture on Artificial Intelligence: Transforming Medical Imaging during the Closing Session on 11 October.
“IPET2024 is another example of the fruitful collaboration between the IAEA and ESR – how synergies and cooperation can benefit the medical imaging community globally while enhancing patient care. The support of professional organizations like ESR has been and will continue to be essential for realizing equitable care for all,” emphasized Diana Paez.