10 May 2016
The British Institute of Radiology launches new South West regional branch
On 20 April 2016 the British Institute of Radiology (BIR) launched its latest regional branch with an event in Plymouth celebrating the past, present and future of radiology. Attended by over 40 radiologists, trainees, radiographers and physicists, the event was chaired by Dr Jenna Millington and included speakers Professor Adrian Thomas, Colonel Iain Gibb and Dr Brent Drake, followed by networking drinks.
After an introduction from BIR Chief Executive, Jacqueline Fowler, and branch chair, Dr Jenna Millington (Army radiology registrar), Professor Adrian Thomas (BIR Honorary Historian) introduced the evening with a fascinating overview of the pioneers of radiology who realised the potential of “The New Photography”, as radiology was then called.
In his graphically illustrated presentation, Colonel Iain Gibb, Defence Consultant Adviser in Radiology, HMS Nelson, explained the challenges of analysing changes of decomposition and the effects of blast and ballistic injury and made the case for CT post-mortem scanning for the forensic investigation of traumatic deaths within the military.
Finally, in an engaging talk looking forward to the future of imaging, Dr Brent Drake, Consultant in Nuclear Medicine and Radiology, Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, explored the benefits of personalised medicine, targeted therapy, the rapidly evolving technology of PET-CT/MRI and the role of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PMSA) in dementia imaging.
The evening received positive feedback with one participant commenting, “Very interesting and diverse speakers, it’s nice to have something a little different for a change”.
As with the six other BIR regional branches, the new south west branch is led by BIR members. The committee will organise educational events across the region from Cheltenham to Land’s End. All BIR members in the region are welcome to join and can take an active role in organising events, activities and social events.
Jacqueline Fowler, BIR Chief Executive said, “We are delighted that we now have an active regional branch in the south west which will offer local education which is relevant to health professionals in the region. We look forward to many successful events of this kind in the future”.
Members in the south west and who would like their BIR regional branch to cover a particular topic, should send an email to branches@bir.org.uk.
The BIR will organise another event in the region in autumn 2016. Watch the website for more details: www.bir.org.uk.
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