European Society of Paediatric Radiology 2019 strategic research agenda: improving imaging for tomorrow’s children

Abstract

The European Society of Paediatric Radiology (ESPR) research committee was established to initiate, drive forward and foster excellence in paediatric imaging, paediatric image-guided intervention and radiation protection research, by facilitating more evidence-based standards, protocols and multi-institutional collaborations. The ESPR Strategic Research Agenda outlines our current research approach, highlighting several areas of paediatric imaging where the society can help guide current and future research, and emphasizing those areas where early research (“seed”) funding may need to be allocated by this and other societies as precursors to larger grant applications. The key aims are to evaluate normal variation in order to be able to confidently diagnose disease states, develop robust image-based classification systems to aid diagnosis and treatment monitoring, and help develop evidence-based clinical guidelines using current literature and experience to identify knowledge gaps. For this reason, the development of evidence-based imaging pipelines, broken down step-by-step to include diagnosis, classification and clinical effectiveness, should be the end goal for each disease entity for each affected child. Here, we outline the 2019 ESPR Strategic Research Agenda along three points in the clinical imaging pipeline: clinical referral, disease diagnosis and evolution, and clinical therapeutic evaluation and effectiveness. Through multicentre trials, using existing high-level experience and expertise, and nurturing the next generation of researchers, we will be able to achieve these aims.