Sophisticated imaging, integrated diagnostics and cloud computing have changed the face of radiology and its relationship with patients. More is yet to come and radiologists must prepare themselves in order to secure their place in this new environment, according to ESR President Professor András Palkó from Budapest, Hungary. Technological improvements have made imaging much more widely available. "Googling 'Mona Lisa', produces 57.7 million results including reproductions, and this could be the future of radiology too, once cloud computing has been introduced into this field. Images could be reproduced endlessly through radiological databases," said Palkó during the ECR Opening Press Conference on Thursday.
A paradigm shift like implementing searchable international or national databases of disease histories would represent a major step forward towards more effective medical treatment, while other technologies available in everyday life could be successfully incorporated into current institutionalised healthcare systems, Palkó went on. "Innovation and modern technology could bring about new developments in radiology in several areas. The first development is already taking place as imaging is satisfying the needs of clinicians by providing high-resolution images giving not only morphological but, more and more importantly, functional information as well," he said. The next development is integrated diagnostics, which combines laboratory diagnostics with imaging technology to provide interpreted results at different stages of patient care. Also, the development of information technology in radiology, focusing on mass computing, cloud computing and robotics is changing the imaging environment. "Last but not least, machine-to-machine communications should also become a common practice for professionals by using tablets to discuss a diagnosis instead of engaging in onsite consultation," Palkó added.
These changes call for careful monitoring to ensure that professional requirements are met and that radiologists will have their place in this new order, and the role of societies like the European Society of Radiology (ESR) will be crucial in the near future. "The ultimate question to be answered today is how we can preserve the role of radiologists in this new environment and one of the main tasks of scientific and educational organisations like the ESR is to find an answer which best serves the interests of the communities of radiologists and patients alike," ESR President said. --- The European Congress of Radiology is the annual meeting of the European Society of Radiology (ESR), the fastest growing medical society in the world, currently with 56,378 members. The congress, which this year takes place March 1 to 5, at the Austria Center Vienna, annually attracts more than 20,000 delegates from over 90 countries, and the accompanying technical exhibition hosts around 300 international exhibitors across 26,000 m2.
