The ISR collaborates with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the World Health Organization (WHO), with whom ISR has the status of a Non-State Actor in official relations, and other international and interprofessional stakeholders and radiological quality and safety initiatives. The collaboration with the IAEA Radiation Protection of Patients Unit and the Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging Section as well as with the WHO focuses, among other things, on the implementation of the International Radiation Basic Safety Standards (BSS) and Bonn Call for Action.
The ISRQSA is dedicated to supporting the uptake and use of clinical imaging guidelines (CIG), especially in low and middle-income countries. Based on the outcome of a survey among ISRQSA member campaigns, the ISRQSA aims to
- Establish guidelines for CIG implementation
- Establish a central repository for freely accessible CIG
- Support the development of mobile app solutions
Fig. 2: ISRQSA member campaigns
Collaboration with the WHO:
The ISR is advocating the development of a global plan for equipment, manpower and organisation in radiology, recognising the role of teleradiology and the potential of artificial intelligence for remote and resource-poor areas, and is engaging with WHO on this topic. The 3-year ISR/WHO work plan for 2019-2021 includes focal areas such as supporting WHO’s work on
- raising awareness for the implementation of the International Radiation Basic Safety Standards (BSS) and the Bonn Call for Action
- justification of medical imaging
- fostering the multidisciplinary/team approach in the use of medical radiation
- medical imaging at global, regional and country levels
- radiation risk communication in medical imaging
- establishing and promoting a radiation safety culture in health care
- implementing the WHO project on the use of medical imaging in individual health assessment of asymptomatic persons
Concrete actions in line with the workplan were the focus on radiation protection in Africa at ECR 2019, the ISR’s review and update of the WHO website sections related to imaging, and the preparation of an ISR-EuroSafe Imaging draft paper on the role of imaging in the global public health agenda with planned involvement of WHO and IAEA.
ISR and WHO organised a joint webinar on "Diagnostic Imaging in Sports Medicine: Present and Future" on the occasion of IDoR (International Day of Radiology) 2019.
The ISR is also in official relations with IAEA and actively involved in its radiation protection activities, particularly in resource-poor areas of the world.
ISRQSA representation at conferences and meetings in 2019:
- ISR-IAEA RPOP meeting at ECR 2019, Vienna/AT, March
- IAEA Technical Meeting on cumulative dose, Vienna/AT, March
- WHO International Advisory Committee meeting on non-ionising radiation, Geneva/CH, May
- WHO World Health Assembly (online staff participation)
- 69th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe, Copenhagen/DK, September
- International Congress of Medical Physics (ICMP), Santiago, Chile, September
- WHO Stakeholder Workshop on Ethical Aspects of Radiation Protection in Health Care, Geneva/CH, September
- International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Committee 3 meeting, Adelaide/AUS, November
ISRQSA is developing the quality and safety programme for the International Congress of Radiology (ICR), Muscat, Oman, October 1-4, 2020.