EU-China network to advance medical imaging
Searching archives of digital images using text descriptors is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. This phenomenon also applies to medical imaging. In addition, databases of medical images are fragmented across medical centres, regions and countries. As the volume of medical images mushrooms, these challenges have become all the more pressing. To address this issue, the EU-funded WIDTH (Warehousing images in the digital hospital: Interpretation, infrastructure, and integration) project sought to draw up a road map for the development of sustainable and flexible data management systems for the digital 'global hospital'. In all, partners exchanged 163 person/month secondments, involving about 80 personnel from 11 partners. This resulted in over 80 scientific publications in reputable journals and refereed international conferences. Several training programmes, workshops and secondments were carried out. Knowledge exchange seminars and briefings took place in both Europe and China. About 30 presentations were given to junior researchers during secondments. Three seconded early-stage researchers were successfully awarded PhD degrees. The Chinese partners visited leading hospitals in the EU to gather knowledge about their advanced medical imaging systems. Their European counterparts also gained valuable experience and knowledge during visits to China. Collaboration was further strengthened, leading to more joint publications in the future. Following their secondments, the Chinese partners were able to secure funding. WIDTH broadened the outlook and knowledge of young European and Chinese researchers concerning new developments and applications in medical imaging. It also helped them to network in light of future collaborative research efforts.
Keywords
Medical imaging, WIDTH, digital hospital