Report by: Anesu Glenda Sabeta

Transcription

1 9 th Biennial Conference of the Pan African Congress of Radiology and Imaging Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre (JNICC) Dar es Salaam, Tanzania February 2017 Report by: Anesu Glenda Sabeta 1

2 Day One: The Journey Cancellation of my morning Kenyan airways flight did not do much to dampen my excitement as it was rescheduled instead for midnight of that same day. The journey was to be completed in two legs from Harare International Airport, Zimbabwe and a connecting flight from J. Kenyatta International airport in Kenya to J. Nyerere International airport in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Pic: Anesu Sabeta- Harare International Airport The journey as a whole took the better part of eight hours and by the time I landed in Dar es Salaam I had lost one hour due to different time zones. Dar es Salaam is Swahili for safe port and the weather was hot and humid with temperatures ranging in the mid-thirties giving a tropical feel to the region. The hotel accommodations were basic but habitable and coincidentally thirteen other PACORI delegates were accommodated in the same hotel which made going to and from the conference venue quite affordable as we would share cab fares or when we decided to brave the heat and take a twenty minute evening stroll back to the hotel after a day of attentive listening and note taking. 2

3 Thursday 16 February 2017 The conference kicked off on Thursday afternoon with a vibrant pre conference workshop which comprised of registration and the theme of these sessions was Radiation Protection in Medical Imaging. There were presentations on CT radiation dose optimization and establishment of diagnostic reference levels in digital radiology for patient dose optimization. At these presentations I was introduced for the first time to the AFROSAFE RAD concept which is a campaign started by radiation heath workers in Africa who united with a common goal to identify and address issues arising from radiation protection in medicine in Africa. Their mission is to promote adherence to policies, strategies and activities for the promotion of radiation safety and for maximization of benefits from radiological medical procedures. Being one of the two delegates from Zimbabwe in which no chapter of AFROSAFE RAD has been launched I was tasked to be the country representative of AFROSAFE and help start the campaign in Zimbabwe with help from delegates from Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania where the campaign was already running. The discussion on the implementation tool matrix of AFROSAFE brought the meeting to an end. In the lobby various event sponsors set up displays of their products. Friday 17 February 2017 Friday saw the official opening ceremony of the conference with the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health of Tanzania officiating proceedings. The ceremony also marked the official launch of AFROSAFE RAD Tanzania chapter. In total the conference boasted delegates from seventeen countries namely 3

4 1. Cameroon 2. China 3. Ethiopia 4. Ghana 5. India 6. Kenya 7. Malawi 8. Nigeria 9. Rwanda 10. South Africa 11. Uganda 12. United Arab Emirates 13. United Kingdom 14. United States of America 15. Zambia 16. Zimbabwe and 17. Tanzania 4

5 Themes of the conference tackled on this day were Financing Imaging and training in imaging. The latter sparked a heated and emotional debate amongst the delegates when one presenter presented a paper entitled, Radiographers reporting: The emerging reality. The bone of contention was mainly between radiographers and radiologists were one group was saying having radiographers reporting is inevitable and it is a critical skill required especially in low resourced settings such as rural areas were specialist radiologists are scarce. The basis of the argument was if radiographers were already reporting ultrasound scans, and then why not radiographic images as a part of role extension. Radiologists on the other hand were concerned about the radiographer s skill or lack of in producing such reports. Concern over litigation was also raised in the case of medico-legal issues. Calm was only restored when the president of the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technologists (ISRRT) Dr Fozy Peer gave a statement to the effect that the society was in full support of this role extension by radiographers and it is working towards establishing a legal framework under which radiographers can report. Saturday 18 February The theme for Saturday was ICT and innovation in health imaging and Women imaging. Advances in technology in imaging were mostly presented by players in the manufacturing of equipment sector and primarily Philips who was the platinum sponsor of the conference. Quite a few innovations in imaging were eye catching such as a software that was made readily available to all delegates which makes use of an individual s mobile device to be used as a probe and their laptop as a 5

6 screen and the two interact together via Wi-Fi and one can learn appropriate handling of an ultrasound scan probe. Saturday evening there was a gala dinner hosted for all delegates at the Peacock hotel where we were treated to traditional Tanzanian cuisine. Sunday 19 February Sunday marked the final day of the conference and there was a mixed bag of presentations with no particular theme. Presentations ended at lunchtime and there was a guided tour of Dar es Salaam for those who wished to attend. Places visited included the recently constructed suspension bridge, the harbor, the fish market and the beach. Pic: Anesu Sabeta- Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre 6

7 Benefit to MRI & Radiology Centre staff and patients On arrival back from Tanzania, I gave a short debrief to my colleagues on the information I had gathered at the conference. Of particular interest was the discussion on dose reduction in CT with particular emphasis on pediatrics. This dose reduction can be achieved by establishing dose reference levels consistent with good image quality for our department which we can use as a guideline. This comes from the realization that there are no dose reference levels adopted for use in the country. The use of DRLs will benefit patients visiting the department in that they will get radiation as low as reasonsonably achievable. As the radiographers in the department we get to optimize our use of radiation thus fulfilling our mandate as radiation practitioners. Being a practice that has two branches which are open 24hours a day and being serviced by the same radiologists, the use of teleradiology to our department will come as a huge improvement to service quality as patients will be able to get their reports timeously regardless of what time the examination was done. Lessons learnt and benefits I created lasting friendships of peers from all over the continent expanding my opportunities for peer reviews Problems faced in radiography are the same throughout the whole continent- no need to reinvent the wheel when solving some problems encountered elsewhere before The sky is the limit when it comes to innovation in imaging Tanzania off the bucket list Acknowledgements My heartfelt thanks go to my sponsors The World Radiography Educational Trust Foundation without whom this trip would not have been possible. My employer MRI and Radiology Centre for allowing me the 7

8 time off work to exploit this amazing opportunity. Event organizers of the 9 th biennial PACORI conference and to family who support my every endeavor, giving me wings to fly. As they would say in Tanzania asante sani- thank you very much. 8