Dr. Alessandro Roncacci, Affidea CMO, on the International Day of Radiology 2020

On November 8th we celebrate the International Day of Radiology and the motto of this year is “Radiologists and radiographers supporting patients during COVID-19”. 

This year, the International Day of Radiology comes at a time when across Europe we are facing the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

On this important day for Radiology, we recognise the critical role that medical imaging has played during the current crisis and the hard work that our diagnostic imaging professionals have done over the past months.

To all our medical staff working in the front line in our centres: for your dedication, braveness and your will to go extra mile for our patients, we gratefully thank you!

We see widely in the national healthcare systems what an important role diagnostic imaging plays.  Radiologists, radiographers, medical physicists, nurses and health assistants working in Radiology are at the forefront  in the diagnosis of patients affected by COVID-19. In fact, the common use of chest X-ray, thoracic High Resolution CT or CT with contrast media have become essential for aligning clinical and laboratory data both in the early diagnosis and monitoring phase of COVID-19 patients.

As we continue navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, an important focus will be the clinical follow-up for patients that tested positive for COVID-19.  At Affidea, we are proud to work with the best medical professionals that can offer a comprehensive follow-up program with a multidisciplinary approach. 

Although the lung is the most commonly and severely affected organ, COVID-19 can increase the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke and kidney disease, among others.  That is why, at Affidea, we have developed a follow-up program for COVID-19 patients, consisting in a complete physical examination, functional assessment (spirometry and measurement of lung volumes) and conventional chest X-ray, with the possibility to undergo a thoracic High Resolution CT if any abnormalities are found. We strongly believe that this program will also be an important support for the NHS with whom we collaborate in different countries.

In these challenging times, Radiology plays a vital role in saving millions of lives. It is our noble mission to offer our expertise when patients need us most. 

We worked hard to ensure the highest level of safety in our centres and protect our patients and our staff and everyone of you went above and beyond to keep our facilities open and be there for our patients. For this, we deeply thank you!

I wish you all a very Happy International Day of Radiology!

Stay safe and healthy,

Dr. Alessandro Roncacci
SVP Chief Medical Officer Affidea