Connecting the Global Radiology Community
By Schwartz ES
Connection has been on my mind recently. The COVID-19 pandemic hit a few months prior to the annual meeting of the American Society of Neuroradiology (ASNR) in the spring of 2020. Subsequently, both that meeting and the 2021 meeting were held exclusively online.
I have the privilege of serving as Program Chair for the 2022 ASNR annual meeting. After all this time apart, our team is planning for an in-person meeting, accompanied by a virtual component for those who will be unable to travel.
Hence, the meeting theme, “Reconnecting the Global Neuroradiology Community,” has been on my mind a great deal lately. It is my fervent wish that we will be able to reconvene in New York City next May for the first time in two years.
But I have also been thinking about connections for another reason.
Since its founding in 1972, Applied Radiology’s mission has been to foster connections within the radiology community by providing imaging specialists around the world with practical, actionable information from experts. However, many medical imaging services, particularly cross-sectional modalities like CT and MRI, are not available in all communities, especially those in the developing world.
This issue’s “Striving to Improve the World of Health Care,” by Applied Radiology Editorial Board member Pradnya Mhatre, MD, MRMD (MRSC), puts a long-needed spotlight on this lack of imaging access. Dr Mhatre also highlights efforts being undertaken to address this and related issues in underserved regions of the world.
The article also serves another important purpose: to serve as the pilot for our new column, “Global Health Imaging.” Beginning with the November/December 2021 issue, this column will feature the views of various experts on many issues and topics of universal interest around worldwide medical imaging.
Among the many stark realities of this ongoing pandemic, it is painfully clear that our personal health and wellness so often depend on the health of our communities, regardless of where we live. The social determinants of health—the societal causes that explain the distribution of illness—function not only within, but also between, populations.1 Health and economic burdens are borne by all, but more so by lower- and middle-income countries.2
We hope “Global Health Imaging” will inspire you to join the global imaging outreach effort, improving the health of communities throughout the world.
After all, we truly are connected, each and every one of us.
References
- Krumeich A, Meershoek A. Health in global context; beyond the social determinants of health?. Glob Health Action. 2014;7:10.3402/gha.v6i0.23506. Published 2014 Feb 13. doi:10.3402/gha.v6i0.23506
- Donia A, Hassan SU, Zhang X, Al-Madboly L, Bokhari H. COVID-19 crisis creates opportunity towards global monitoring & surveillance. Pathogens. 2021;10(3):256. Published 2021 Feb 24. doi:10.3390/pathogens10030256
Dr. Schwartz is the Editor-in-Chief of Applied Radiology. She is the Chief of the Division of Neuroradiology and holds the Robert A Zimmerman Chair in Pediatric Neuroradiology in the Department of Radiology at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She is also an Associate Professor of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.