VIENNA – 2 March 2016 – Replacing Europe’s Medical Imaging Equipment is essential and long overdue, says COCIR, the trade association for Europe’s medical imaging, health ICT and electromedical industries. COCIR is presenting its evidence in a posterlaunched at the second EuroSafe Imaging Session at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR). The poster is designed to raise awareness of the prolonged delay in innovative medical imaging technologies reaching healthcare professionals and patients.

Each year, technological advances in engineering and processing provide incremental gains in medical imaging. On occasions, a major breakthrough such as low-dose CT revolutionises image capture and quality while exposing the patient to a much reduced radiation dose. However, healthcare professionals and patients can only benefit if these advances are swiftly adopted into clinical practice.

Nicole Denjoy, COCIR Secretary General, said; “A quarter of the European CT installed base cannot be upgraded with the most important dose-saving technology advances, CT Dose Modulation and CT Reiterative reconstruction algorithm technologies. This is equivalent to approximately 2,500 units in Western Europe and 500 in Eastern Europe, which can now be considered inadequate from a radiation safety perspective. They should be replaced as a matter of urgency”.

Nicole Denjoy added; “Working closely with clinicians, COCIR members are continuously improving the new medical technologies that play a critical role in driving access to healthcare, increasing efficiency, improving productivity and progressing patient safety. However, Healthcare providers must also play their role in advancing safety. They need to adopt a more patient-centric approach to dose reduction and dose optimisation when replacing ageing and outdated equipment”.

COCIR has closely monitored the ageing of medical imaging equipment since 1996. It already raised the alarm in 2014 over the findings that in many countries the installed base is older than it has ever been.

*COCIR is the European Trade Association representing the medical imaging, health ICT and electromedical industries. Founded in 1959, COCIR is a non-profit association headquartered in Brussels (Belgium) with a China Desk based in Beijing since 2007. COCIR is unique as it brings together  the healthcare, IT and telecommunications industries.

For more information, contact:

Nicole Denjoy
COCIR Secretary General
Tel: +32 (0)2 706 8961
denjoy@cocir.org

Kathryn Sheridan
COCIR Communications Advisor
Tel: +32 (0)496 116198 
press@cocir.org