Abstract
Reflecting the change in funding strategies for European research projects, and the goal to jointly improve medical radiation protection through sustainable research efforts, five medical societies involved in the application of ionising radiation (European Association of Nuclear Medicine, EANM; European Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics. EFOMP; European Federation of Radiographer Societies, EFRS; European Society of Radiology, ESR; European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology, ESTRO) have identified research areas of common interest and developed this first edition of the Common Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) for medical radiation protection.The research topics considered necessary and most urgent for effective medical care and efficient in terms of radiation protection are summarised in five main themes:Measurement and quantification in the field of medical applications of ionising radiationNormal tissue reactions, radiation-induced morbidity and long-term health problemsOptimisation of radiation exposure and harmonisation of practicesJustification of the use of ionising radiation in medical practiceInfrastructures for quality assuranceThe SRA is a living document; thus comments and suggestions by all stakeholders in medical radiation protection are welcome and will be dealt with by the European Alliance for Medical Radiation Protection Research (EURAMED) established by the above-mentioned societies.Main messages• Overcome the fragmentation of medical radiation protection research in Europe• Identify research areas of joint interest in the field of medical radiation protection• Improve the use of ionising radiation in medicine• Collect stakeholder feedback and seek consensus• Emphasise importance of clinical translation and evaluation of research results
Highlights
Over the last 5 to 10 years the structure of research funding by the European Commission (EC) has gradually changed
Reflecting the change of funding strategies for research projects within Europe, and the goal of jointly improving medical care by sustainable research efforts, the medical societies involved in the application of ionising radiation have identified research areas of interest and agreed upon these in this common Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) endorsed by the medical societies
The subtopics defined for each topic describe the specific research aspects that are identified as areas of great importance regarding research for establishing optimal radiation protection in the field of medical applications
Summary
The SRA is a living document; comments and suggestions by all stakeholders in medical radiation protection are welcome and will be dealt with by the European Alliance for Medical Radiation Protection Research (EURAMED) established by the above-mentioned societies. Decided that it was necessary and would be helpful to develop a corresponding common Medical Strategic Research Agenda (Medical SRA) to overcome current and future deficits and to be a constructive partner in European radiation protection research To this end, research areas of interest have been jointly identified and agreed upon in this common SRA endorsed by the medical societies. In a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the medical societies, MELODI and EURADOS in 2014, it was decided to cooperate in order to promote the integration and the efficiency of European radiation protection research, to maintain and use a common European infrastructure for this research as well as to bring forward scientific education and training in the field of radiation protection for medical applications of ionising radiations. The stakeholders are involved through a formal consultation process that has been initiated, is ongoing and will be reflected in future updates of the SRA presented here
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