The role of medical technology is of critical importance in societies facing healthcare budget constraints, the challenges of ageing populations, the rise in chronic diseases and shortage of qualified healthcare professionals. Innovative medical imaging technologies have proven their ability to enhance the efficiency of medical care and clinical outcomes. However, such benefits reach healthcare professionals and patients only if swiftly adopted into clinical practice. A faster pace of Computed Tomography (CT) equipment renewal is required. COCIR recently identified technological upgrades such as Dose modulation acquisition...

Working with clinicians, COCIR members continue to develop new medical technologies that play a critical role in driving access to healthcare, increasing efficiency, improving productivity and progressing patient safety. Technology upgrades support a patient-centric approach to care pathways. Technology drives dose reduction of >50% in paediatric imaging without a loss of diagnostic quality [1] COCIR has also been closely monitoring the ageing of medical imaging equipment across Europe since 1996. Its vendor market intelligence has just revealed that a quarter of the European CT installed...

National and regional governments and EU policy-makers should support the replacement of aged equipment that cannot be upgraded and ensure comprehensive, coherent and sustained investment (e.g. EU Structural Funds) to transform the delivery of care for all. Healthcare providers should adopt a more patient-centric approach to dose reduction and dose optimisation when replacing ageing equipment to advance patient safety.

European Coordination Committee of the Radiological, Electromedical and Healthcare IT Industry Nicole Denjoy, Secretary General, COCIR; Contact: [email protected]

(1) C. Saidlear et al, ECR 2015 / C-1888, 2015