High-level medical experts from over 30 countries will meet in Vienna next week at the IAEA Scientific Forum to review the contribution of nuclear technology to the prevention, treatment and management of diseases.
The use of radiation in medicine is one of the most significant medical developments in the past century. From prevention to treatment, nuclear technology is an essential component in efforts to tackle a variety of health conditions, including today’s biggest killers: non-communicable diseases. Cancer and cardiovascular conditions are the leading causes of death in the world, accounting for 26.5 million of the 56.4 million deaths recorded in 2015. As populations grow older and lifestyles change, they are set to bear an even bigger burden on health systems worldwide.
The two-day event, Nuclear Techniques in Human Health: Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment, is open to the media and will be streamed live from the opening at 09.30 CEST on 19 September 2017. The Forum will take place in Board Room D of the C-Building of the Vienna International Centre (VIC).
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano will open the Forum along with keynote speakers:
- King Letsie III, Lesotho
- Madeleine Tchuente, Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation, Cameroon
- Veronika Skvortsova, Minister of Health, Russian Federation
- Eric Ulloa, Vice-Minister of Health, Panama
- Detlev Ganten, Founder of the World Health Summit, Germany
In five sessions, experts will look at developments in nuclear medicine and at the challenges countries may face in having access to it:
- Session 1: Preventing disease through better nutrition will highlight how nuclear and isotopic techniques help combat undernutrition and obesity and are used to monitor the impact of environmental factors, such as toxins and poor sanitation, on child growth.
- Session 2: Looking beyond the visible – new frontiers in diagnostic techniques will present cutting-edge nuclear applications to identify non-communicable diseases in their early stages, and the growing role of these technologies in the early detection of infectious and neurological diseases.
- Session 3: Addressing implementation challenges in countries will review the impact of new medical technologies on national health budgets, and at countries’ different needs in these areas.
- Session 4: Radiotherapy – saving and improving quality of life of cancer patients through new approaches will look at the future of radiotherapy, including personalized treatment and technological innovations to improve patient care.
- Session 5: Ensuring quality and safety will focus on quality assurance programmes, clinical audits and performance quantification methods to ensure that patients get the best possible treatment outcome.
The Forum will conclude with a wrap-up session including IAEA Director General Amano and the following speakers:
- Untung Suseno Sutarjo, Secretary General of the Ministry of Health, Republic of Indonesia
- Jabbin Mulwanda, Permanent Secretary for Health Services, Ministry of Health, Zambia
- Massimo Garriba, Director of Nuclear Energy, Safety and ITER, Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission, Italy
- Dominique Le Guludec, Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Institut De Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN), France
- Neerja Bhatla, Professor, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, India
- Andrew Scott, President, World Federation of Nuclear Medicine and Biology, Australia
The detailed programme and full list of speakers can be found here. Some of the speakers are available for interviews. Please contact the IAEA Press Office for more details.
Accreditation
Journalists with permanent credentials to the VIC need no additional credentials. We encourage those journalists who do not yet have permanent accreditation to request it at UNIS Vienna.
Others should contact Michelle Gruensteidl for accreditation. Please email m.gruensteidl@iaea.org or call [+43-1] 2600-22048 or [+43-1] 2600-21273.