SINGAPORE -- About 70% of the world’s population has zero access to MRI and it will take a “no surrender” approach to improve this disparity, according to Andrew Webb, PhD, a professor of radiology at Leiden University in the Netherlands.
Webb is a leading figure in efforts to improve access to MRI in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and delivered the notable Lauterbur Lecture May 5 on the topic at the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine meeting.
In an interview with AuntMinnie.com, Webb described what he meant by “no surrender” (the title of his talk) – essentially, not backing down in the face of massive obstacles – and noted the idea itself of improving global access to MRI is relatively new.
“This is something that’s not going to happen overnight,” he said.
Webb also leads significant academic and clinical research on the use of high-field strength MRI and touched on what caused him to pivot toward efforts to bring low-field MRI to low income countries.
Lastly, we asked Webb about the challenges these efforts face. At least one hurdle is how to show clinicians in LMICs who are unfamiliar with MRI technology what it is capable of and how to use it, he noted.
