International Conference on Radiation Protection in Medicine:
Achieving Change in Practice
Vienna, Austria
11–15 December 2017
Conference ID:
50820
(CN-255)
Announcement and Call for Papers
A. Introduction
The use of ionizing radiation in medicine is well established, and has resulted in tremendous benefit to humankind in diagnosing and treating diseases. While the medical benefits are unquestionable, there has been growing evidence of unintended and unnecessary use of radiation in medicine, creating the need for radiation protection principles.
The IAEA was requested by its General Conference in 1999 to organize an international conference on radiation protection of patients. This conference was held in March 2001 in Malaga, Spain, and triggered an international action plan that is guiding international efforts in patient protection. This created momentum in radiation protection of patients globally.
Considering trends and developments, the IAEA decided to hold its second conference on radiation protection in medicine in 2012 in Bonn, Germany. The conference aimed to focus efforts in this area and develop a strategy for the next decade so as to maximize the positive impact of future international work. This resulted in the Bonn Call for Action.
During the five years following the Bonn conference, a number of initiatives have been taken by professional societies to form regional radiation protection campaigns. An increasing number of articles are appearing in journals in the area of patient, occupational and public medical radiation protection. There are also technological advances in imaging, therapy and dosimetry equipment with a focus on radiation protection.
Nearly five years after the Bonn conference, there is a need to assess the progress of implementation of the Bonn Call for Action and apprise Member States of advances in the field. The IAEA has decided to hold the next conference on this topic at its Headquarters in Vienna from 11 to 15 December 2017.
Scope: The coverage includes optimization and justification in medical exposure; safety in medical use of ionizing radiation; and radiation protection of medical staff and public, when ionizing radiation is used for diagnosis, intervention, therapy or research.
B. Objectives of the Conference
The objectives include reviewing actions taken and developments since the 2012 Bonn conference, especially focusing on actions taken in line with the Bonn Call for Action by all relevant parties; this will enable a review of the overall approach to the implementation of these actions and the harmonization of activities between international organizations and other stakeholders, as well as allow stakeholders to look ahead at new developments impacting on radiation protection in medicine.
C. List of Topics
The IAEA welcomes high quality contributions in all aspects of radiation protection in medicine. Both academic and practice-based papers under the umbrella of the following subjects of the topical sessions and round table discussions are welcomed:
1. Activities relating to the Bonn Call for Action, and their impact.
2. Justification in the use of radiation in medicine.
3. Radiation protection of patients and staff in diagnostic radiography, fluoroscopy and computed tomography.
4. Radiation protection in mammography, dental and maxillofacial imaging and other diagnostic modalities.
5. Radiation protection of patients and staff in interventional procedures.
6. Radiation protection in medical exposures of children and pregnant women.
7. Radiation protection of patients and staff in radiotherapy including brachytherapy.
8. Learning from unintended and accidental exposures in medicine.
9. Radiation protection of patients, staff and the public in diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine and hybrid imaging.
10. How are we strengthening radiation safety culture in healthcare?
11. How are we fostering and improving the radiation benefit/risk dialogue?
12. How are we meeting radiation protection challenges in design and implementation of new medical technologies?
13. How are we meeting challenges in patient dose recording, tracking and data management?
14. Regional radiation safety campaigns.
15. Topics for future research and development in medical radiation protection.
D. Target Audience
The conference is directed at a wide audience with an interest in radiation protection in medicine. In particular:
* Health professionals, e.g. physicians practising in radiological imaging, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy; referring medical practitioners.
* Medical physicists, radiographers and technologists; radiation protection professionals and engineers.
* Healthcare managers, health economists and risk communication experts.
* Representatives of patient organizations and manufacturers; health researchers and academics.
* Representatives of health authorities and regulatory authorities with a special responsibility in this field.
E. Expected Outcomes
* Assessment of impact of the Bonn Call for Action.
* Strengthening the position of and improving radiation protection in medicine globally, taking into account the diverse challenges in radiation protection in medicine regionally.
* Response to radiation protection challenges from imaging and therapy modalities that were at an initial stage five years ago.
* Conclusion on results from the Bonn Call for Action by Member States.
* New findings and priorities relating to radiation safety.
F. Programme Structure
The opening session will include welcome-addresses from the IAEA and the Conference President, followed by opening talks from co-sponsors. This session will be further complemented by a keynote presentation on the importance and unique aspects of radiation protection in medicine.
A series of eight topical sessions will cover selected areas of radiation protection in medicine. The topic of each session will be introduced by a chairperson, followed by three invited presentations and a summary of the session-related contributed papers presented by a rapporteur. Each topical session will conclude with a plenary discussion.
Four round table discussions will be dedicated to identifying recommendations for future actions. After an introduction of the topic by the chairperson, brief statements will be delivered by the panel members. Following a summary of the relevant contributed papers by a rapporteur, a plenary discussion involving the audience will take place.
Finally, during the concluding session, the chairpersons of the topical sessions and round table discussions will present their summaries and the Conference President will present the conference findings, conclusions and recommendations on the way forward.
G. Contributed Papers, Posters and Proceedings
Concise papers on issues falling within the scope of the conference (see Section C) may be submitted as contributions to the conference. All papers — other than invited overview papers — must present original work and must not have been published elsewhere.
These papers will not be presented orally, but will be summarized orally by a rapporteur (as indicated in Section F) and distributed in a compiled electronic format free of charge to all participants upon arrival at the Conference premises. Questions relating to the contributed papers can be asked at the appropriate topical session or round table discussions.
Authors of contributed papers may, if they so wish, present the substance of their papers in the form of posters, which will be exhibited in a Poster Area.
G.1. Submission of contributed papers
Specifications: contributed papers should be submitted in English and should not have more than four A4 pages; they should include key elements, such as a brief introduction, methods, results, discussions and conclusions, and should be preceded by an abstract not exceeding 200 words.
Template: contributed papers should be typed in the template, which can be downloaded from the conference’s browser-based file submission system (IAEA-INDICO), which will be available on the conference web page (see Section P) from 15 March to 15 June 2017.
Submission: the contributed paper template must be uploaded to IAEA-INDICO between 15 March and 15 June 2017. No other submission route will be accepted. Authors should state to which of the above topics (see Section C) their contribution relates.
In addition, submitting authors and presenting authors must send the following forms to their competent official authority (see Section H) for transmission to the IAEA. These forms must be received by the IAEA no later than 15 June 2017:
* Participation Form (Form A)
* Form for Submission of a Paper (Form B)
IMPORTANT: The uploaded contributed paper will be considered by the Programme Committee only if these two forms have been received by the IAEA through the competent official authority (see Section H).
G.2. Acceptance of contributed papers
Authors will be informed by 15 August 2017 as to whether their papers have been accepted for inclusion in the unedited Book of Contributed Papers and for poster presentation and will receive further guidelines.
The Secretariat reserves the right to exclude papers that do not comply with its quality standards and do not apply to one of the topics in Section C.
Papers that are not sent through the official channels and papers arriving after the deadline will not be considered.
G.3. Conference proceedings
The welcoming addresses, keynote and invited presentations, the rapporteurs’ reports, the chairpersons’ summaries, and the conference conclusions will be compiled in an electronic format and reproduced in unedited form.
H. Participation and Registration
All persons wishing to participate in the conference are requested to register online in advance through the conference web page (see Section P). In addition, they must send a completed
- Participation Form (Form A),
- Form for Submission of a Paper (Form B) (if applicable), and
- Grant Application Form (Form C) (if applicable),
as soon as possible to a competent official authority:
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
- Permanent Mission to the IAEA, or
- National Atomic Energy Authority,
or to one of the organizations invited to participate for subsequent transmission to the IAEA, via email to Official.Mail@iaea.org.
A participant will be accepted only if the Participation Form is transmitted through the Government of a Member State of the IAEA or by an organization invited to participate.
Participants whose official designations have been received by the IAEA will receive further information on the conference at least three months before the start of the conference. This information will also be made available on the conference web page (see Section P).
I. Expenditures and Grants
No registration fee will be charged to participants.
The IAEA is generally not in a position to bear the travel and other costs of participants in the conference. The IAEA has, however, limited funds at its disposal to help meet the cost of attendance of certain participants. Such assistance may be offered upon specific request to normally one participant per country provided that, in the IAEA’s view, the participant on whose behalf assistance is requested will make an important contribution to the conference. If governments wish to apply for a grant on behalf of one of their participants, they should address specific requests to the IAEA to this effect. Governments should ensure that applications for grants are:
1. Submitted by 15 June 2017;
2. Accompanied by a duly completed Grant Application Form (Form C) signed and stamped by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the National Atomic Energy Authority;
3. Accompanied by a completed Participation Form (Form A).
Applications that do not comply with the above conditions cannot be considered.
Approved grants will be issued in the form of a lump sum payment that usually covers only part of the cost of attendance.
J. Distribution of Documents
A preliminary programme will be posted on the IAEA conference website as soon as possible. The final programme and the electronic compendium of contributed papers will be available free of charge upon registration at the conference.
K. Working Language
The working language of the conference will be English.
L. Accommodation
Detailed information on accommodation and other administrative details will be available on the conference website well in advance of the conference.
M. Visa
Designated participants who require a visa to enter Austria should submit the necessary application to the nearest diplomatic or consular representative of Austria as soon as possible. Please note that Austria is a Schengen State and therefore persons who require a visa will have to apply for a Schengen visa. In States where Austria has no diplomatic mission, visas can be obtained from the consular authority of a Schengen Partner State representing Austria in the country in question.
N. Key Deadlines
Electronic submission of the contributed paper (max four pages)
including submission of Forms A and B 15 June 2017
Submission of Forms A and C: 15 June 2017
Notification of acceptance of contributed paper: 15 August 2017
O. Conference Secretariat
General postal address and contact details of the IAEA:
International Atomic Energy Agency
Vienna International Centre
PO Box 100
1400 VIENNA
AUSTRIA
Ref.: IAEA-CN-255
Tel.: +43 1 2600 0
Fax: +43 1 2600 7
Email: Official.Mail@iaea.org
Scientific Secretary:
Mr Ola Holmberg
Head, Radiation Protection of Patients Unit
Radiation Safety and Monitoring Section
Department of Nuclear Safety and Security
Tel.: +43 1 2600 22718
Email: radprom.2017@iaea.org
Administration and organization:
Ms Martina Khaelss
Conference Services Section
Division of Conference and Document Services
Department of Management
IAEA-CN-255
Tel.: +43 1 2600 21315
Email: IAEA-CSS-Conferences.Contact-Point@iaea.org
Subsequent correspondence on scientific matters should be sent to the Scientific Secretary, and correspondence on administrative matters to the Conference Services Section.
P. Conference web page
Please visit the IAEA conference web page regularly for new information regarding this conference:
http://www-pub.iaea.org/iaeameetings/50820/International-Conference-on-Radiation-Protection-in-Medicine
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