Looking back on a successful RSNA - 2017 edition

This year we were once more present in McCormick Place in beautiful Chicago offering demos of our solutions for radiology departments: DOSE, our patient dose management solution; our pre audit services BASELINE and COACH, our audit & knowledge management system

The Radiological Society of North America’s annual meeting (RSNA), the biggest event of radiology of the year, was held this year between November 26th until December 1st. With more than 27,000 attendees from 137 countries, RSNA is the place to be for any professional in the radiology field.

Qaelum NV delegation team was present one year more in Chicago. We offered demos of our software solution DOSE for patient dose optimization at the booth of our reseller and partner Agfa HealthCare. We offered as well demos on our solution COACH, our audit management system, and BASELINE, our pre audit (gap analysis) services. On the other hand, some members of our delegation had the chance to present their research work on clinical quality procedures based on QUAADRIL, the IAEA standard for quality audits, and on patient size estimation for general radiology for more accurate dose estimations. We still had some time as well to exchange thoughts with other specialists and attend some of the most anticipated and interesting lectures of the conference.

Qaelum delegation at RSNA 2017: (from left to right) Evguenia Boldyreva (Head of Training), Niki Fitousi (PhD, Head of Research), Nelly Ilcheva (Head of QARA), Jurgen Jacobs (CEO), Luc Colle (VP Global Sales) and An Dedulle (PhD Researcher).

Jurgen Jacobs and Niki Fitousi giving a DOSE demo (top). Evguenia Boldyreva and An Dedulle discussing DOSE (bottom).

Let us make a brief summary of RSNA 2017 for you!

A step closer to personalized dosimetry for accurate patient radiation dose calculations

An Dedulle, our PhD researcher, presented her study —alongside fellow Belgian colleagues— striving for more personalized patient size estimations for conventional chest examinations by means of available parameters in the DICOM header that can be extracted via our patient dose management DOSE.

QUAADRIL - Evaluating quality and performance

Nelly Ilcheva, Head of QARA, presented her research based on our audit management system COACH. For the purpose of the study, voluntary clinical audits were performed in 31 radiology departments across four European countries in a period of two years in order to evaluate their performance in terms of quality. The guidance document for the research is the Quality Assurance Audit for Diagnostic Radiology Improvement and Learning (QUAADRIL) by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This study underlines the importance of performing internal audits on a regular basis to overcome problems and aim for new objectives, such as certifications, accreditations or being compliant with national or international regulations.

An Dedulle (top) and Nelly Ilcheva (bottom) presenting their studies.

Our hard work on providing quality & safety acknowledged

Qaelum received the Most Committed Supplier of the Year Award by our reseller Agfa Healthcare. This award proves the strong partnership between Agfa HealthCare and Qaelum as well as acknowledges all the hard work made on providing quality & safety for medical imaging departments.

Jurgen Jacobs and Luc Colle collecting the award on behalf of Qaelum NV.

AI’s take off

The integration of AI in radiology departments through apps was definitely the hot topic at RSNA this year. Yet deep learning must come hand in hand as it is the foundation to make AI happen. In our landscape of radiology, DL could help to improve workflow which ultimately optimizes processes and improves patient care. Nevertheless, when it comes to incorporating DL and AI into radiology practice, infrastructure still remains a challenge. But stay tuned, because we will definitely keep hearing about developments in the nearby future.