The European Congress of Radiology was held in Vienna between March 1-5, 2023. The EURAMED rocc-n-roll project was presented in a dedicated session on “European Research Agenda for medical applications of ionising radiation: the EURAMED rocc-n-roll project”

The session was chaired by our Clinical Coordinator Guy Frija (UP). Katrine Riklund (UmU) kicked off the session presenting medical radiation application research needs and radiation protection in different disease areas. Jean-Michel Dolo (CEA) presented the EURAMED rocc-n-roll view on the criteria, definition and establishment of centres

of excellence and research infrastructures for the field of medical applications of ionising radiation research. EURAMED rocc-n-roll Scientific Coordinator Christoph Hoeschen (OvGU) introduced the project’s findings on challenges and barriers as well as recommendations for improved transfer of knowledge to industry and clinical routine. He also provided an overview of the topics to be covered in the EURAMED rocc-n-roll Strategic Research Agenda and Roadmap which will be finalised in July 2023. Finally, Georgi Simeonov (DG ENER, European Commission) presented the EC perspective on the efforts in our project to develop a European Strategic Research Agenda for medical applications of ionising radiation and the link to SAMIRA and the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.

As the session was open-access, if you have missed, or simply want to re-watch the sesssion, follow the instructions:

1. Visit the session page on ESR Connect and select the session you would like to attend.
2. Click on ‘Login’ in the upper right corner and enter your ESR MyUserArea credentials or create a new ESR account for free (after you have created your account please visit the session page once again).
3. The session is now saved in your user menu under ‘My Courses’ which can be accessed via your user icon in the upper right corner.
4. When the session starts, log-into your account and visit the session page, where the livestream will start automatically.

In addition, the outcomes of EURAMED rocc-n-roll Task 2.6 discussions on regulatory views and issues were presented by Hugo de las Heras Gala (BfS) at the EuroSafe Imaging session on “Radiation protection and artificial intelligence (AI): expectations and needs from the community” on Sunday, March 5. Moreover, a dedicated EURAMED rocc-n-roll poster “EURAMED rocc-n-roll: From a European strategic research agenda towards a corresponding roadmap for medical applications of ionizing radiation” was available in the digital poster area.

EIBIR (European Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Research) was present during the whole week of the congress and invited participants to learn more about EURAMED rocc-n-roll at their booth and pick up the new project flyer.

On February 14 and 16, EURAMED rocc-n-roll will hold a radiation protection training event for researchers.

In line with the WP7 objectives to design and pilot a dedicated education and training (E&T) methodological framework for health professionals and researchers, this exemplary training event will be carried out dedicated to researchers of all varieties (clinical, academic) who use ionising radiation equipment as part of their work or undertaking research linked to medical applications of ionising radiation. This may include research at all levels (Research Assistants, Research Masters or Doctoral Students, Post-Doctoral Fellows, Research Fellows, etc) using radioactive materials, pre-clinical imaging, clinical trial organisers, etc.

This exemplary training event will be organised through two webinars (February 14, 14:00-17:00 CET and February 16, 14:00-17:00 CET)

Webinar 1 – 14/02/2023 | 14:00 – 17:00 CET

Dosimetry in radiation protection for researchers

• To understand the importance of radiation dosimetry for researchers;
• To become familiar with common methods for dosimetry and their respective advantages and limitations;
• To consider the most appropriate dosimetric quantities for varying research scenarios;
• To apply available dosimetric tools to practical scenarios.

Program

14.00hrs CET: Welcome (Assoc Prof Jonathan McNulty, University College Dublin, Ireland)

14.20hrs: Dosimetry quantities (Prof Graciano Paulo, Presdient ESTESC, Coimbra, Portugal)

15.35hrs: Dosimetry for researchers (Assist Prof Rachel Toomey, UCD, Ireland)

16.00hrs: Benefit-risk communication strategies (Assoc Prof Shane Foley, UCD, Ireland)

16.20hrs: Group activity and Q&A

Webinar 2 – 16/02/2023 | 14:00 – 17:00 CET

Occupational radiation protection for researchers

• To understand the key radiation protection principles for researchers who use ionising radiation equipment;
• To become familiar with practical measures for personal radiation protection;
• To discuss topical radiation protection measures specific to researchers;
• To apply radiation protection principles using online / virtual simulation tools;
• To discuss benefit-risk communication strategies linked to their research.

Program

14.00 Welcome & Introduction

14.10 Principles of radiation protection overview. Joana Santos, Coimbra Healthcare College

14.30 Uncertainties in personal dosimetry. Marie Anne Chevallier, EURADOS, WP2 Chair

15.45 Practical steps for radiation protection. Speaker: Shauna Murphy, UCD

16.10-16.40 Virtual simulation tools for radiation protection presentation. Louise Rainford, Jaka Potocnik, Shauna Daly, UCD

16.40hrs: Group activity and Q&A

Registration is now open: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd–iIEn5ckNwwUcWHTZbLQ-m1ptL7woaX4irMruVKfX4-1yQ/viewform

Download the programme schedule.

From January 23-26, 2023, EURAMED rocc-n-roll will hold a radiation protection training event for health professionals.

The WP7 objectives are to design and pilot a dedicated education and training (E&T) methodological framework for health professionals and researchers and guidance document on how to organize, implement and disseminate E&T in medical RP among health professionals and how to include E&T in all research projects to enable researchers a sound knowledge base of the science required for RP research, to build capacity in RP research and ensure sustainability of the field, including the link with industry regarding new technological developments, from a RP perspective.

Based on that work and to pilot the proposed methodology, an exemplary training event will be carried out dedicated for health professionals (clinical staff).

This exemplary training event will be organized through four webinars (2 hours each: 18:00 – 20:00 CET) on the following topics:

Webinar 1 – 23/01/2023 | 18:00 – 20:00 CET

Dose management of patient and staff

• Understanding procedure dose descriptors
• Rasing awareness of radiation benefits and risks
• Understanding staff monitoring

Webinar 2 – 24/01/2023 | 18:00 – 20:00 CET

Dose reduction strategies in fluoroscopy guided procedures

• Understanding the use of dose descriptors in FGP
• Applying patient dose reduction strategies
• Applying staff dose reduction strategies

Webinar 3 – 25/01/2023 | 18:00 – 20:00 CET

Dose reduction strategies in CT

• Understanding the use of dose descriptors in CT
• Applying optimal dose reduction tools
• Becoming familiar with optimisation process (dose and image quality)

Webinar 4 – 26/01/2023 | 18:00 – 20:00 CET

Establishment and use of DRL’s

• Understanding the DRL’s establishment
• Becoming aware of DRL’s challenges per image modality
• Understanding the utility of using DRLs

This will serve as a strategy to establish a harmonised and sustainable safety culture in RP amongst health professionals.

Registration is open to healthcare professionals on a first-come-first-saved basis.

Click here to register now!

During the European Radiation Protection Week 2022, an EURAMED rocc-n-roll WP6 Workshop will take place on Wednesday, October 12, 13:30-15:55 at the Estoril Congress Center in Estoril, Portugal.

The workshop entitled “Discussion on Roadmap & Interlink Document” will focus on the work of Task 6.2 The roadmap and Task 6.3 The interlink document.

The workshop program is available here.

Ahead of the 2022 European Congress of Medical Physics, the WP4 team hosted a workshop, focusing on the digital revolution and ethical challenges for medical applications of ionising radiation. The workshop was held on August 16, 2022 at the Dublin City University, St. Patrick’s Campus, Dublin, Ireland.

The attendees, combining digitisation researchers, health experts and the radiation science community, discussed the ongoing digital revolution in healthcare in the particular context of radiation applications in diagnostic and therapeutic medicine. Two WP4 deliverables in the domain of AI and ethics were also presented for comment. The workshop was a rewarding experience, bringing in a wealth of insight that will influence the direction of the WP team for the remainder of the project.

The EURAMED rocc-n-roll project will be featured in a dedicated session at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) 2022 next week. The session will be streamed and available open access. Please find the details below to join the session onsite or online:

New applications and technologies for the medical use of ionising radiation and related quality and safety perspectives (an update from the EURAMED rocc-n-roll project): 

Wednesday, 13th July, 13:00 – 14:00 CEST

Room: Open Forum #2

Chairpersons’ introduction (C. Hoeschen; Magdeburg/DE, K. Riklund; Umea/SE)
New applications and technologies in interventional procedures (C. Iosif, Nicosia/CY)
New developments in paediatric radiology (C. Granata; Genoa/IT)
The clinical EURAMED rocc-n-roll perspective on new developments (K. Riklund; Umea/SE)
Open forum discussion

https://connect.myesr.org/course/new-applications-and-technologies-for-the-medical-use-of-ionising-radiation-and-related-quality-and-safety-perspectives-an-update-from-the-euramed-rocc-n-roll-project/

In order to access the open access sessions please follow the instructions below:

1. Visit the session page on ESR Connect and select the session you would like to attend
2. Click on ‚Login’ in the upper right corner and enter your ESR MyUserArea credentials or create a new ESR account for free (after you have created your account please visit the session page once again)
3. The session is now saved in your user menu under ‘My Courses’ which can be accessed via your user icon in the upper right corner

As part of Task 5.1 The translational challenge for medical radiation application and protection research consensus statements were generated on key translational challenges from a range of professional stakeholders between March and September 2021 employing a Delphi methodology.

A total of three Delphi rounds were conducted using a series of electronic surveys comprised of open-ended and closed-type questions. The surveys were disseminated via the EURAMED rocc-n-roll consortium network and prominent medical societies in the field. Approximately 350 professionals were invited to participate.

The report on the conclusions from these surveys have now been published. Find out how to access the publication here.

We are happy to announce that the EURAMED rocc-n-roll onsortium has successfully concluded the first project period. The project reached a significant milestone with the end of its first period as partners submitted all deliverables and fully achieved the objectives for the first 18 months of EURAMED rocc-n-roll. Stay tuned for an update on our first results.

During the European Radiation Protection Week (ERPW) 2021, two EURAMED rocc-n-roll workshops will be held on November 22 and 23, 2021 in Vienna/AT and online. One of the workshops will be related to WP6 and one to WP3. The preliminary programme is available here.

Find more information on registration for the workshops and the ERPW here.

On September 30 and October 1, 2021 the EURAMED rocc-n-roll consortium met online for their annual consortium meeting. The work progress, first results and next steps in each Work Package were presented and discussed. The draft structure of the EURAMED rocc-n-roll SRA was discussed and feedback gathered from the partners and members of the Advisory Board.