Outdated medical imaging technology places patients at potential risk for safety

Mar 20 2017

The age of the installed base of medical imaging equipment is continuing to decline dramatically, placing patients at avoidable risk. To draw attention to this deterioration in equipment and the potentially serious consequences, COCIR is launching a new infographic at the 3rd edition of the EuroSafe Imaging presence at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR).

The infographic dramatically illustrates this alarming fall, with a quarter of the European CT installed base (approximately 3,000 units) no longer capable of being upgraded with the latest technological advances, including CT Dose Modulation and CT Reiterative reconstruction algorithms, which can reduce the required radiation dose.

Since the onset of the financial crisis nine years ago, this technological obsolescence has spread across Eastern and Western Europe. The new infographic clearly shows that the number of countries failing to meet the COCIR “Golden Rules” 1has trebled.

COCIR Secretary General Nicole Denjoy said:

It is vital that we repeat the alarm call we first raised in 2014. Once again, we urge healthcare providers to replace ageing and outdated equipment as part of a more patient-centric approach to advancing safety. Managed Services should support the possibility to have sustainable and affordable access to the latest healthcare technology and equipment achievable. The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) - the ‘Juncker Plan’ - should also be used to encourage and enable adoption and diffusion of Managed Services. This approach, together with Public Private Partnership models, allows providers to renew their infrastructure at much-reduced capital requirements. Cost should longer be used as a barrier or objection to replacing obsolete units.

The benefits to patients and clinicians of renewing the Medical Imaging Technology base are clear and irrefutable. Advances in technology over the last ten years provide faster, higher quality images, improve many types of examination and make a significant contribution to reducing mortality. At the same time, the radiation required to generate images continues to fall.
COCIR members are continuously delivering incremental gains in medical imaging technologies which directly contribute to patient safety.