Medical imaging is confronted with heterogeneities in many areas, including education and training, research, and quality of equipment and practice, which calls for a pan-European approach.

by Prof. Guy FRIJA, Past-President of the European Society of Radiology (ESR)

In 2014, the European Commissions Expert Panel advising the European Commission on effective ways of investing in health recently adopted an opinion1  recommending specific actions to improve quality of care and patient safety.
The actions proposed in the expert panel

The Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal du Val d

Hybrid imaging is the fusion of medical images, most commonly from CT (computed tomography), PET (positron emission tomography) and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), in order to enhance visualisation. It addresses both anatomical detail and functional processes, thereby providing superior accuracy for diagnosis and the monitoring of interventional procedures. In several cases, it is also accompanied by lower radiation exposure for patients.

Since the early 1990s, the six member States of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) have witnessed an unprecedented boom in the hospital and healthcare sector. Growth has been driven by numerous factors – from the provision of an increasing range of healthcare services to curbing the need for citizens to travel overseas for surgery.
While basic indicators such as life expectancy and infant mortality have shown dramatic gains, per capita health spending in the region is now on par with countries in eastern Europe. In spite of this, a host of new challenges have been emerging, above all due to an ageing population and lifestyle changes – as well as local skills shortages. In order to cope, Gulf hospitals have set up alliances and joint ventures with their top Western counterparts, especially from the US.