Will there be sustainability teams in radiology centers soon?

Protecting the environment and reducing carbon emissions have become recurring topics when we talk about the future of healthcare. In this context, hospital radiology departments and medical imaging practices must reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the medium term and become more resilient to the impacts of climate change.

North American radiologists are developing an approach to creating an environmentally responsible radiology department

That’s why a group of North American practitioners, led by authors from the University of Toronto, has developed an approach that is likely to address these new limitations and published the results of this work in the journal Revue Radiology.

The purpose of this article is to raise awareness of the relationship between planetary health and radiology, highlight why radiologists should care about sustainability, present actions that can be implemented to mitigate our impacts, and prepare services and practices to adapt to climate impacts. change.

The burning of fossil fuels and other human activities that increase levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are major drivers of climate change. Radiology, associated with the production and use of medical imaging equipment and related materials, is estimated to generate up to 1% of global emissions.

Create a sustainability team in each imaging department

“We offer a coordinated approach and concrete actions that radiologists can implement to help preserve the health of the planet and, in turn, improve the health of their communities and their patients,” says lead author of this article, Professor Keith Hanneman, Vice President-President in Research, Associate Professor at the University of Toronto and Associate Director of Sustainability at the Integrated Medical Imaging Unit at Toronto General Hospital (Canada).

The authors suggest radiology departments start by creating a sustainability team and dashboard to track and measure key metrics and performance indicators. “Imaging departments should be a diverse team that includes all key stakeholders, including radiologists, MERM, management, IT and facilities management,” she continues.

Disable unused cross-sectional imaging methods and optimize study schedules.

Highly effective measures recommended to improve radiology sustainability include switching from disposable to reusable medical supplies, turning off air conditioning systems in unoccupied rooms, and turning off equipment when not in use.

Professor Hanneman notes that by turning off cross-sectional imaging techniques or reducing their power consumption when not in use, overall greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by up to 33% for MRI and 40% to 80% for computed tomography (CT). . Optimizing the scheduling of these methods can also reduce downtime and average greenhouse gas emissions per exam for MRI and CT machines. “Using one scanner 24/7 with minimal downtime is more efficient than using three scanners from nine to five,” she adds.

Select the least energy-intensive method and develop low-field MRI capabilities.

Another potential action is to implement decision support tools to select lower energy studies where possible. CO2e emissions vary depending on the imaging modality and are higher for MRI and CT than for ultrasound and traditional radiology techniques. “When multiple imaging studies are available to answer a clinical question, priority can be given to those that produce lower emissions,” says Professor Hanneman.

The authors also suggest shortening imaging protocols and increasing the use of low-field MRI clinical applications. “Expanding the clinical use of low-field MRI will not only reduce use-phase emissions, but also has the potential to improve global access to MRI,” she continues. Low-field MRI techniques tend to be smaller and cheaper, and there is growing recognition that they can help address health inequalities. »

Get creative to identify the most environmentally responsible practices

The authors also recommend working with manufacturers to upgrade or repair equipment whenever possible rather than purchasing new imaging equipment. To reduce packaging waste, they suggest moving from single-dose contrast media administration systems to multi-patient administration systems and developing sustainable waste management programs.

In this article we did not find a revolutionary solution that could be implemented in this context, since the bulk of the recommendations published there have already been the subject of several articles in our columns. However, Professor Henneman clarifies: “Not all proposed actions. would be applicable or feasible to implement in every radiology department. Sustainability teams will have to get creative to determine which actions will have the biggest impact on their department. »

This article was part of Radiology’s special sustainability issue in honor of Earth Day. We’ll be back with more of the talks featured in this special issue in the near future.

Bruno Behnke with RSNA