The event launched the Institute of Medical Imaging and Visualisation
A public event celebrating the role of radiology in healthcare in Dorset took place on 18 July 2022.
The event marked the opening of Bournemouth University’s Institute of Medical Imaging and Visualisation (IMIV).
The event was organised by Bournemouth University (BU) and University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust (UHD) to showcase the latest innovations in radiology and the healthcare benefits radiology provides for people in Dorset. The evening event took place at the university’s new Bournemouth Gateway Building on Lansdowne Campus, which houses the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences (HSS).
Professor Anand Pandyan, Executive Dean of the Faculty of HSS opened the evening by introducing a short film of Dr James Franklin, Head of the IMIV and Consultant Radiologist at University Hospitals Dorset.
The IMIV houses a new Siemens 3T Lumina MRI Scanner which was co-funded by BU and Dorset LEP. The MRI scanner can be used to examine almost any part of the body with exceptional image quality, efficiency and speed. It’s one of the new facilities at the IMIV which was established to provide research and education in the fields of medical imaging to help with the diagnosis, planning and monitoring of diseases.
Dr Franklin addressed a public audience and spoke about the value of the IMIV facilities for research and training, and of the benefits of the Institute to the wider community in helping to improve healthcare in Dorset. He said: “Imaging can be crucial in helping us to identify disease earlier, when it’s more treatable and there are more options available.”
Guest speaker Professor Ruth Williamson, Consultant Radiologist and Deputy Chief Medical Officer from University Hospitals Dorset was also invited to speak about the different types of radiology scanning technologies from X-rays, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and the future of radiology which will incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques. Ruth chairs the steering group for the partnership between BU and UHD and said: “What is fascinating about radiology is that it is constantly developing. From when I first started in the field of CT scanning, a single cross-sectional image 'slice' of a person’s body would take a couple of minutes to produce, the latest scanners today image the whole body in seconds.”
The evening ended with a talk by Dr Clare Bent, Consultant Interventional Radiologist at University Hospitals Dorset, sharing her passion for interventional radiology and the benefits of less invasive forms of surgery. She demonstrated this by showing members of the audience the different types of stents and other equipment used to treat patients and said: “Modern techniques in the field of radiology mean that patients can undergo less invasive procedures reducing the risk of post-operative infections, and in 90% of cases patients can go home the same day.”
UHD has university status through its partnership with BU, which has officially been in place for nearly two years. This collaboration allows the hospitals in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) to benefit from the latest BU healthcare research, innovation, education that can be delivered directly into clinical practice at the hospitals. BU students from across healthcare disciplines can also undertake placements at the hospitals in BCP, giving them the opportunity to put their skills into practise.
Research at the IMIV is already underway in the areas of liver and pancreatic diseases as well as neuroimaging studies on the brain to help research into Alzheimer’s disease.
Postgraduate students can also follow a career in medical imaging and visualisation through the university’s MSc in Medical Imaging with Management programme, which allows students to develop the skills for advanced medical imaging practice.
The Bournemouth Gateway Building is also home to the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences offering specialist courses in various health, social care and social science subjects.
To find out more about the work of the IMIV visit the BU website.
