The European Congress of Radiology will be held in Vienna from Feb. 28 through March 4. In advance of the annual event, HealthCare Business News reached out to Professor Bernd Hamm, president of the European Society of Radiology, the organization behind the congress, to learn more.

HCB News: New for this year, the “My Thesis in Three Minutes” event sounds like a medical version of the elevator business pitch (always interesting, but always challenging). Can you tell us a little more about it?

Bernd Hamm: With the “My Thesis in Three Minutes” sessions, we provide a new platform for those who would like to give a concise presentation in a dynamic and entertaining scientific session. Of course, this can be quite challenging, as participants have to be well-prepared to present their thesis, including the most important results in just three minutes. On the other hand, if we think about news on TV, where complex topics are presented in 90 seconds, we realize that this is something we see every day. Thirty-six percent of our abstract authors applied for this new format, so we know that people are eager to face this challenge and we are very excited to get their feedback. What I can promise right now is that we will see 12 interesting and entertaining sessions.

HCB News: Are there other presentations or events you’re particularly excited about this year?

BH: There are many sessions I would love to attend. But, unfortunately, I already know that I will only make it to a fraction of them. As this is the case for many of our attendees, I strongly recommend to sign up for ECR online, where you can watch all sessions either live or on demand after the congress.

There is another new format at ECR 2018 called “Coffee & Talk,” which I would like to recommend. These sessions will be held in a relaxed atmosphere in one of the Austria Center’s stylish lounges, where short statements and discussions will be offered on topics such as clinical decision support, challenges for department chairs, undergraduate teaching of radiology, radiation protection and imaging biobanks. The goal is to create an open, interactive forum where participants are welcomed to stop by and contribute to the informal discussions while sipping their coffee or tea.

HCB News: What other topics do you think attendees will be discussing the most?

BH: This is actually hard to tell as preferences tend to differ, but I think this is exactly what our congress motto “Diverse & United” reflects. Radiology is such a diverse specialty that has something to offer to all of us and for future generations of physicians, radiographers and students. Let me assure you that ECR 2018’s scientific and educational program will live up to the congress motto and offer something for everyone’s interest. Besides science, there is one topic that plays a major role in all meetings and that is food. I took a close look at the feedback we received from participants in recent years and it became clear to me that this is an area where we can do better. At ECR 2018 participants can expect a street food-style concept with Berlin currywurst and local specialities from our ESR meets countries - China, Portugal and Switzerland.

HCB News: What have been the most exciting advances in radiology since the last Congress?

BH: That is a tough one to answer. Radiology is a field driven by technical improvement and scientific breakthroughs that we can currently witness in almost all areas of our discipline. I am pleased that at ECR 2018 we can present the latest results from those developments to our participants. For example, we will have a new building, called “The Cube,” dedicated to interventional radiology, where workshops on minimally invasive image-guided therapy will take place.

ECR 2018 will also focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Even if you might think that AI is momentarily undergoing a period of hype, it is nevertheless a technology that radiology has to put to its best use.

Furthermore, we will focus on hybrid imaging, which is becoming more important in daily radiology practice. I am very interested in integrated diagnostics, which could be accomplished by the creation of departments of diagnostics, where radiology, pathology and genetics join forces. This is highly relevant to medicine in general and, in my opinion, radiology will play a central role.

HCB News: The U.S. continues to struggle with challenges delivering health care, including rising costs, the need to improve outcomes, providing access, etc. Is it the same story in Europe, or are the challenges unique?

BH: Nowadays all health care systems are facing problems and challenges. If some are not, then they are just not aware of it yet. As Europe is comprised of many nations, those challenges can be quite different and sometimes unique. However, something that unifies most of the European systems is the subsidiarity principle, which is one of the great achievements of the welfare state.

One advantage of European health care systems might be that we can learn from others and then adapt or improve our current systems gradually and not be confronted with a single choice like yes or no as it is with Obamacare.

HCB News: Looking ahead, can you offer some predictions about how radiology will change over the next five to 10 years?

BH: I am not a fortune-teller, but this is actually something that I am asked frequently by residents and students these days. Radiology is amongst the top drivers of innovation in medicine, so I can definitely predict a bright future. Radiology, as a specialty, is constantly growing and renewing itself and is also doing this much faster than other specialties. Moreover, it is such a diverse specialty, having something to offer for all of us and for future generations as well. The options range from more refined diagnostic procedures to image-guided minimally invasive treatments.

One more word on AI: I am convinced that it is not a threat, but a tool that we can use to support our work and to improve results. The radiologist’s job has constantly changed in the past and will continue to do so in the future. For one thing, the amount of data we are dealing with is ever-increasing. AI will help us to cope with this workload and make optimal use of the data in our daily routine. This, in turn, leaves us with more time for patient care and communication with clinical colleagues, thus making radiology more visible to others.

The best approach to predicting the future would be to go back 10 years and have a look at what we were doing back then and where we are now. Almost everything we are using now was already there, not as manifested and by far not everyone was convinced of those approaches back then, while many of them are now generally accepted. It is not much different today. We are looking at possible solutions, which we develop, discuss, discard or improve and some of them will possibly define our daily work 10 years from now.

HCB News: With an aging population in Europe, do you anticipate a shortage of radiology services? If so, what steps are being taken to remedy the problem?

BH: This actually goes hand in hand with what I have said before. Teleradiology, modern IT solutions and AI will be key in helping us to cope with the workload, which is not only generated by an aging population, but also by a general need for more diagnostic services.

Nevertheless, the most important thing is to spark enthusiasm amongst future generations of students, doctors and radiographers. I am confident that we can achieve that by promoting the diversity of our discipline, and having a secure job perspective will also aid our cause.

HCB News: Has the British vote to leave the EU had any impact on the ESR?

BH: There is no denying that the British vote is affecting Europe and the European community. This is unfortunate, but the ESR and the scientific community are beyond politics, and we will further strengthen and develop international cooperation and relationships. The vote poses no threat to the ESR, but instead, it provides an opportunity to prove that science does not know borders. Since the establishment of the ESR and through its various activities, we have built a solid foundation for European radiologists to cooperate and communicate and our motto should be “Let’s be calm and carry on.”