RADIOLOGY


with AI inside to speed up departmental workflow enabling more patients to be seen in a working day. In addition to productivity gains, the less time a patient spends in an MRI scanner, the better, particularly for individuals with claustrophobia or anxiety. Beyond this, AI for diagnosis will also provide additional support for the reporting processes of radiologists to assist with decision support and aim to reduce the workload burden on diminishing staff resources.


Efficient healthcare for patients and the planet


What we must not forget on the quest for hospital efficiency, is that we are in this not only for the health of patients, but also for the health of our planet. The NHS has a goal of becoming carbon zero by 20405


and looking for energy-efficient innovation and features on medical equipment. Sustainability reporting and carbon footprints will be far lower if systems go into standby between patients, for example, an ‘EcoMode’, or innovative features that have been designed to generate a system’s own energy source such as CT gantry spin technologies. Embracing AI innovations will also reduce overall energy emission per patient case and helps to remove the need for repeat scans.


and


foresight of the impact of future health issues on society means adjusting behaviours now. The effect of climate change and destruction of the natural world is having a dramatic environmental consequence around the globe and will have a knock-on effect on UK health. This could include a rise in heart disease, stroke and lung cancer linked to air pollution; greater pressure on the elderly and vulnerable people with pre-existing cardiovascular or respiratory conditions as a result of more frequent heatwaves; and the spread of new and, as yet, unknown global infectious diseases and pests by changing weather conditions enabling faster reproduction and replication. As we all set forth on the path to initiating, innovating and delivering efficiency programmes, are we also considering green needs too? I believe there are five key steps to help with achieving a greener, decarbonised and more efficient radiology department: 1 Embrace imaging equipment innovation to reduce departmental energy emissions at the same time as improving patient care. This means focusing on the energy emissions from medical equipment that is used throughout the working day. This could be by evaluating and selecting new systems based on low-energy consumption


2 Select carbon conscious supply chain partners. The ‘Greener NHS’ report highlighted two targets for the NHS to achieve net zero emissions: by 2040 (with interim 80% reduction by 2028-2032) for emissions under direct NHS control, and by 2045 (80% reduction by 2036-2039) including the wider NHS supply chain. It highlighted the supply chain as one of the greatest areas of opportunity for the first time. So, it is time to start looking at the sustainability credentials and verifications of the NHS supply chain such as the British Standards PAS2060 requirements, environmental management ISO14001 certification, carbon zero auditing via partner status from the United Nations’ Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG), or ideally, all of the above.


3 Take imaging closer to the community. Moving patient care out of the acute setting and into the community is on the horizon as part of the revaluation of UK health systems magnified by the arrival of Coronavirus. This will provide better infection control in the new COVID-era, give greater convenience to people to arrange appointments closer to home and, therefore, drive down carbon emissions due to less travel. It also gives fresh opportunity to ensure new buildings are designed and developed in line with sustainable and low carbon materials and lower energy consumption.


4 Encourage and reward green behaviours to help with cultural change. This could be from simple material and energy waste awareness schemes through to extended


training and education, internal award schemes or CPD. It will have a self- propelling positive effect to educate on the environmental impact inside the radiology department.


5 Standardise medical imaging equipment selection. Speed of access to modern imaging equipment is needed to catch up on COVID-19 backlogs and reduce patient waiting times that existed even before the pandemic. Reducing choice of all the variable optional elements of imaging equipment and standardising the systems for routine patient diagnostic needs would give more economic, quicker, and more flexible access to UK patient populations.


It has been a challenging period in healthcare’s history, but we have much to be optimistic about looking to the future. COVID-19 highlighted what needed to change and has given much-needed impetus to make sure we never get taken by surprise again. Efficiency is still the mantra in hospitals, but innovation in people, processes and technology will be the enabler.


References 1 Implications on Utilisation of Diagnostic Imaging, 2017–2022 (Frost & Sullivan, February 2019)


2 Diagnostics: Recovery and Renewal – Report of the Independent Review of Diagnostic Services for NHS England, October 2020


3 The Royal College of Radiologists, UK Workforce Census 2020,


4 https://www.rcr.ac.uk/press-and-policy/policy- priorities/workforce/radiology-workforce-census 5 British Medical Association, May 2021


CSJ


About the author


Fig 3. Advanced intelligent Clear-IQ Engine (AiCE), a Deep Learning Reconstruction AI algorithm on CT delivers low dose, extremely high-quality clinical images, and all in a rapid timeframe suitable for everyday clinical use.


SEPTEMBER 2021


Mark Hitchman is the managing director of Canon Medical Systems UK. Canon Medical Systems, a medical imaging equipment provider, is a carbon- neutral business meeting all PAS2060 requirements by the British Standards Institute and monitored independently to Gold Standards for UN Global Goals.


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