IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano highlighted the IAEA’s contributions in the field of nuclear medicine at the European Association of Nuclear Medicine Annual Congress in Vienna on Saturday.
The Annual Congress is the largest conference on nuclear medicine in the world and is attended by over 6,000 participants this year. The meeting, held from 21 to 25 October in Vienna, includes more than 130 sessions as well as numerous exhibits showcasing new nuclear medicine technologies.
In his keynote address, Mr Amano focussed on the IAEA’s work to improve the availability of nuclear technology in health care in developing countries. “Our Human Health Programme provides a comprehensive approach to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of health conditions in four main areas: nutrition; nuclear medicine and diagnostic imaging; radiation oncology and radiobiology; and dosimetry and quality assurance.” he said. The cooperation between the IAEA and EANM in expanding educational opportunities for medical professionals was extremely valuable, Mr Amano said. The EANM provides experts as well as infrastructure for IAEA training courses and expert missions to low- and middle-income countries. “In 2016 and 2017 alone, more than 140 nuclear medicine professionals benefited from the cooperation between our two organizations, mostly through training in European countries,” Mr Amano said.
The EANM also contributes interactive educational materials to the IAEA’s Human Health Campus website.
Mr Amano encouraged conference participants to support capacity-building in nuclear medicine in developing countries. “Please share your considerable expertise with your colleagues in developing countries,” he said. “Invite doctors, technologists, radiopharmacists and medical physicists as IAEA Fellows to your country, or your institution, for training. Offer your services as a teacher or lecturer on IAEA training programmes. Take part in IAEA expert missions. All of these activities have real impact in saving lives in developing countries.”
The EANM Annual Congress includes sessions on topics such as nuclear cardiology, molecular radiotherapy and radiopharmacy. IAEA experts will give presentations on topics including nuclear medicine resources and quality management.
