Opening Meeting of the IAEA TC Project POL9028 “Preventing Tissue Reactions in Interventional Procedures” took place on March 26- 27, 2024, in hybrid format: in Łódź as well as online, on a dedicated web platform. Additionally, online participants could follow live streaming, choosing the simultaneous interpretation channel (English or Polish).
The meeting to officially launch the POL9028 project, implemented under the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Technical Cooperation program for 2024-2025, was opened by Dariusz Kluszczyński, Director of the National Centre for Radiation Protection in Health Care (KCORwOZ), who welcomed the invited guests: Andrzej Głowacki, President of the National Atomic Energy Agency (PAA); Jerzy Walecki, National Consultant in the field of radiology and imaging diagnostics; representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (Meng Li, Programme Management Officer, Division for Europe, Department of Technical Cooperation; Olivera Ciraj-Bjelac, Project Technical Officer, Dosimetry and Medical Radiation Physics Section, Division of Human Health, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications; Jenia Vassileva, IAEA expert); Dorota Wróblewska, Deputy Director of NCRPHC (KCORwOZ); representatives of the Ministry of Health; representatives of the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate (GIS); as well as speakers and a large group of meeting participants.
Introductory words were delivered by: Andrzej Głowacki, President of PAA, Jerzy Walecki, National Consultant in the field of radiology and imaging diagnostics, and Meng Li and Olivera Ciraj-Bjelac from the IAEA. Then, Dariusz Kluszczyński discussed the assumptions of the POL9028 Project, as well as the activities that will be implemented in 2024-2025.
During the two days of the symposium, lectures were delivered by experts present on site in Łódź: prof. Jerzy Walecki and prof. Jenia Vassileva, as well as those participating online: prof. Tadeusz Popiela, prof. Tomasz Moszura, Michał Zawadzki, MD, PhD and Joanna Kidoń- Szołtysek, PhD.
Lectures on issues in the field of interventional radiology covered the following topics: interventional procedures in health care, interventional radiology in neurology, interventional radiology in pediatric cardiology, doses for patients and radiation effects related to the performance of interventional radiology procedures, doses in interventional radiology – a case study, practical approaches to dose management for the patient and staff, as well as interventional radiology from the perspective of a medical physicist and radiation protection officer.
The program also included time for discussion, thanks to which the meeting became a platform for exchanging experiences, views, and conclusions between participants. The symposium was addressed to all specialists interested in improving radiation protection of patients and staff by promoting good medical practices and improving of interventional radiological procedures. Nearly 160 people took part in the event, which was free and open to the public. These included: representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate (GIS), employees of the Provincial Sanitary and Epidemiological Stations (WSSE), the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IMP), and, above all, doctors, electroradiologists, medical physicists, radiation protection inspectors from hospitals and other health care units in Poland.
We would like to thank all participants for such a large attendance and invite you to follow the information about further activities undertaken as part of the POL9028 Project aimed at raising the awareness of personnel dealing with interventional radiology by promoting procedures in which the radiation protection of the patient is part of good medical practice.
