Research Profiles - Medical Imaging, What's Next?

Image: Research Profiles - Medical Imaging, What's Next? Image courtesy of Roger Lecomte, Martin Lepage, Luc Tremblay and Johannes E. van Lier, Université de Sherbrooke

The isotope shortage triggered by the shutdown of the Chalk River nuclear facility has had a serious impact on clinical care in Canada and around the world by limiting the ability to diagnose and treat diseases.

Beyond highlighting the need to look at finding new sources of isotopes, the crisis has shone a spotlight on the ever-growing importance of imaging and probe research and its application in health and health care.

Last fall, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council hosted a two-day Medical Imaging Workshop in Vancouver. It brought together dozens of researchers and clinicians to discuss the state of medical imaging and probe development in Canada and identify strategies to advance the field.

Building on that initiative, CIHR invited four of the workshop participants to take part in a teleconference panel to further exchange ideas. What follows is a condensed version of their freewheeling discussion.