The President's Conference 2005: “Technology in Imaging and Radiotherapy – towards improved workflow and productivity”

Abstract

Gunter Dombrowe, the President of the British Institute of Radiology (BIR), introduced the theme of this year's Conference, and explained its dual purpose - to highlight the contributions of medical and information technologies towards improving clinical practice, patient outcome and health economics; and to pay tribute to the pioneering work of Sir Godfrey Hounsfield, the inventor of CT scanning, perhaps the key technology of the digital imaging age. This Commentary provides an overview of some of the important topics discussed at the Conference. Some of the key presentations are also included in this issue. Elizabeth Beckmann reminded the audience of the early days of CT - the excitement generated by the images of the brain shown at the 32nd Congress of the BIR on 20 April 1972, the delightfully understated title of Sir Godfrey's