Green Medical Imaging - Ultrasound rediscovered as a resource-saving future technology in clinical imaging

Abstract

Global warming is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century, with far-reaching consequences for the environment, society and, last but not least, healthcare [1]. While the effects of climate change on human health are already being widely analysed and debated, the healthcare sector itself is increasingly coming under scrutiny as a contributor to the environmental crisis [2]. The healthcare sector is responsible for around 4.4% of global CO2 emissions worldwide - and the trend is pointing higher still [2]. In particular, imaging procedures such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) are characterised by high energy consumption, complex infrastructure requirements and, in some cases, environmentally relevant consumables. The use of these resource-intensive imaging methods has also risen significantly in recent years, in particular due to growing diagnostic demands and not least to increasing availability [3]. Green Medical Imaging is a new approach in which ultrasound imaging in particular can be distinguished as a resourceconserving and forward-looking imaging method. As a radiationfree, widely available and energy-efficient procedure, ultrasound not only provides clinically valuable information in real-time and in direct contact between clinician and patient but has been shown to cause significantly less environmental pollution compared to CT and MRI [4, 5]. The aim of this editorial is to raise awareness of the ecological dimension of medical imaging and to show concrete potential savings for climate-relevant emissions through the increased use of ultrasound. The implementation of sustainable imaging strategies should in particular also stimulate debate about the extent to which the routine use of high-precision and resource-intensive imaging methods in modern medicine is always clinically justified and proportionate.