COCIR has launched a new infographic at the third dition of the EuroSafe Imaging presence at the European Congress of Radiology.

According to the European trade association, the age of the installed base of medical imaging equipment is continuing to decline dramatically, placing patients at avoidable risk. The infographic dramatically illustrates this 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, according to the association. The new infographic shows that the number of countries failing to meet the COCIR “Golden Rules” has trebled.

”It is vital that we repeat the alarm call we first raised in 2014,” says Nicole Denjoy, secretary general at COCIR. “Once again, we urge healthcare providers to replace ageing and outdated equipment as part of a more patient-centric approach to advancing safety.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.”

She enjoys, “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.”

Advances in technology over the last 10 years provide faster, higher quality images, improve many types of examination and make a significant contribution to reducing mortality, according to the association. At the same time, the radiation required to generate images continues to fall, it continues.

To view the infographic, click here.