The ISR is delighted to announce the extension of its Practical Arrangements with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) until 2027.
The Practical Arrangements on cooperation in the area of diagnostic and interventional radiologywere concluded for the first time in November 2021, adding a more formal aspect to thetwo organizations’ long-established relations. The extension ceremony washeld at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, on October 8 on the sidelines of the IAEA International Conference on Hybrid Imaging (IPET 2024).
The extension of the Practical Arrangements is a recognition of the fruitful relationship between the ISR and the IAEA and will pave the way for their enhanced collaboration on educational activities and efforts to improve radiological quality and safety in the future.
The first Practical Arrangements have materialized, for example, in the involvement of ISR speakers in the IAEA International Conference on Integrated Medical Imaging in Cardiovascular Diseases (IMIC) 2022 as well as in theIAEA Consultancy Meeting on Strengthening Radiology Clinical Practice in Africa through Virtual Training in February 2023.The IAEA, in turn, provided speakers for the International Congress of Radiology (ICR) 2023, held in Hurghada, Egypt, March 15-17, 2023.
The ISR facilitated two speakers for the highly successful IAEA Breast Imaging Course in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in December 2023 and will again provide speakers for a similar course in St. Lucia in December 2024. Furthermore, the ISR was represented on a high level at the above-mentioned International Conference on Hybrid Imaging (IPET 2024), where ISR Secretary General Boris Brkljacic had the outstanding honor to speak about the ISR’s activities in a panel discussion during the Opening Ceremony jointly with IAEA Director General Rafael M. Grossi and other high-ranking representatives from the IAEA, governments, professional bodies and industry. The discussion was moderated by Dr. May Abdel-Wahab, Director of the IAEA Division of Human Health, and addressed the topic of Advancing Medical Imaging: innovations, Challenges, and Collaborations. Prof. Brkljacic presented the ISR’s activitiesalso during a working lunch on the Role of Professional Organizations in Advancing Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging and contributed to an engaging session on breast imaging together with Prof. Pascal Baltzer from the European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI) representing the ISR.
As part of the renewed Practical Arrangements, the ISR has also been invited to contribute to the radiology component of the IAEA Rays of Hope cancer initiative.
“The Practical Arrangements add strength tothe ISR’s role as a trusted stakeholder in healthcare policy at the globallevel and support us in pursuingour mission, namelyto facilitate the global endeavors of our member organizations to improve patient care and population health through medical imaging. The ISR is grateful and proud to collaborate with the IAEA in making high-quality education and training accessible especially to low-resourced countries and in supporting their efforts in the field of radiation protection through the ISR Quality and Safety Alliance (ISRQSA)”, Prof. Brkljacic said.
In her presentation on the IAEA’s Contribution to Enhancing Nuclear Medicine and Radiology during the Closing Ceremony of IPET 2024, Dr. Diana Paez, Head of IAEA’s Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging Sectionmentioned among other things the Lancet Oncology Commission on Medical Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, which the ISR supported. Her address was followed by closing words by Dr. May Abdel-Wahab, Director of the IAEA Division of Human Health, who thanked the professional organisations such as the ISR for their excellent contributions to a truly international event.
