Conference to define the scope and content of research in diagnostic radiology. Held under the auspices of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences Bethesda, Md., Jan. 6, 1967. Preliminary report.

Abstract

The national medical program is essentially the culmination of many years of productive medical research. Now emphasis is to be placed on the delivery of health services made possible by fundamental investigation. But research may not lag. Continued fundamental research is necessary for the future. Present clinical investigation must be supported to achieve the adaptation of research information to clinical application. Clinical investigation must also undertake to find means to teach and train as well as to put into practice the increasingly complex procedures in diagnosis and treatment for eligible patients that increase more rapidly than do the ranks of physicians and supporting personnel. Legislation has resulted in an appropriation of funds to provide support in areas where new knowledge and technology are urgently needed to further diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities to conquer heart disease, cancer, and stroke. Among the areas specifically mentioned is Diagnostic Radiology. An urgent need is recognized for highly trained scientists who can bridge the gap between clinical and basic sciences and extend the findings to the bedside. Training efforts in these fields are complementary to the proposal of the further expansion of research efforts in the same areas. The applications of diagnostic radiology pervade every branch of clinical medicine, and many of the preclinical sciences are involved in development or application in some form. In any clinical department it is likely that some aspect of the research program relies in some degree on radiologic studies. It is possible to see in such activities a vigorous research component to diagnostic radiology which would allay concern for continued development of this field of diagnosis. This masks the problem. It is necessary to distinguish between research activities which utilize the facilities for diagnostic radiology and the research activity within the specialty of Diagnostic Radiology. Diagnostic Radiology, as a specialty and as an academic department, has a heavy commitment to patient care and to teaching. Its growth and development are a matter of concern because of lack of its own contribution to research. For instance: The internist correlating chest x-rays, pulmonary scans, and pulmonary function studies, The endocrinologist correlating x-rays for bone age and development with endocrine disorders, The neurologist using cerebral angiography to correlate anatomy and function of cerebrovascular insufficiency, The surgeon who acquires radiographic facilities for organ replacement research, The urologist who studies micturition by means of cineradiography— all are engaged in research involving diagnostic radiology. But this makes no contribution to correcting the research deficiency in the Department of Diagnostic Radiology. Research may not be bought nor borrowed to satisfy the deficiency.