Monthly Archives: January 2020

Luminaries share how pushing the boundaries of MSK and cardiology in sports can widen diagnosis & treatment for all

Manchester United Football Club’s Old Trafford stadium recently played host to an event dedicated to the world of sports medicine to promote the sharing of best clinical practice. The occasion, hosted by Canon Medical Systems UK, drew together clinicians, researchers and industry experts to discuss how medical imaging can assist elite sports and the wider public with injury prevention, earlier diagnosis and faster rehabilitation.

Over one hundred sports physiologists, radiologists and physiotherapists joined the forum to hear about sports medicine developments in musculoskeletal (MSK) and cardiology. The latest MR, CT and ultrasound imaging systems were also discussed to educate on how technical innovations can help unlock deeper information to support informed decision-making on sports health.

Best practice and clinical research speakers included Dr Steve McNally, Head of Football Medicine & Science at Manchester United Football Club who delivered a talk on progression to the next level at a football club medical imaging department; Dr Guido Pieles, Consultant Congenital Cardiologist at Bristol Heart Institute and University of Bristol presented state-of-the-art cardiac performance monitoring in elite sports clubs; and Dr Gil Rodas, Team Doctor & Medical Director Barca Innovation Hub from FC Barcelona highlighted experience of genomics to return to play in professional team sport players.

“The Sports Medicine & MSK Solutions event was a great opportunity to hear how sports medicine luminaries are pushing the boundaries of MSK and cardiology knowledge using innovative imaging solutions. Across Europe, Canon Medical is working with football, tennis, basketball, rugby and cycling teams. These sporting partnerships, from grass roots to the higher echelons, are giving greater insight into the anatomical and physiological understanding of the human body to prevent, diagnose and recover from illness and injury. This has the potential to positively cascade into wider healthcare and the general population by the development of screening programmes or more detailed treatment planning,” states Mark Hitchman, Managing Director at Canon Medical Systems UK.

Feedback from delegates included expressions of gratitude for a rich and informative event that highlighted the enormity of research and development that goes into professional athletes. Comments were also received about the content and range of speakers helping to broaden people’s understanding of MSK, profiling techniques and innovation in imaging solutions.

Photo caption: Canon Medical Systems UK hosted The Sports Medicine & MSK Solutions event at Manchester United Football Club’s Old Trafford Stadium to share best clinical practice in sports medicine.

Pictured L to R: Professor Wim Derave Department of Movement and Sports Sciences at Ghent University; Mark Hitchman, Managing Director of Canon Medical Systems UK; Dr Steve McNally, Head of Football Medicine & Science at Manchester United Football Club; Dr Guido E Pieles, Paediatric and Adult Sports Cardiologist at Bristol Heart Institute and University of Bristol; Tessa Sanderson CBE, Six times Olympian athlete & Sports Ambassador; Dennis Irwin, 1990s Manchester United Player; Dr Pedro Augusto Gondim Teixeira, MSK Radiologist at Hospital Central CHRU-Nancy in France; Andrew Unwin, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at The Windsor Knee Clinic; and Ken Sutherland, President of Canon Medical Research Europe.

Canon Medical UK raises the profile of carbon neutral imaging equipment

Delegates at this year’s annual scientific meeting of the British Medical Ultrasound Society (BMUS) in Harrogate learned more about carbon neutral diagnostic imaging systems and how equipment with environmental credentials help to make significant contributions to the health of the earth and fighting climate change. This is at the same time as also meeting the needs of patient care through high quality imaging.

Canon Medical provided an education session delivered by CO2balance, a carbon neutrality specialist, to detail how every imaging system inside a health establishment has a carbon footprint. This is the amount of greenhouse gas, primarily carbon dioxide (CO₂), it releases into the world’s atmosphere calculated from the energy and fuel emissions during manufacture, packaging and delivery of the system plus the lifetime running of the equipment once inside a hospital or clinic.

“Many NHS Trusts and independent healthcare organisations are focusing on the sustainability aspects of their operations and looking to drive down their own carbon footprints to make a difference to the health of the planet. Not only can we meet the demand for high-standard clinical imaging for patient diagnosis and treatment, but we can also prove that our systems are not harming the health of the planet,” states Rosie Beattie, Ultrasound Regional Manager at Canon Medical Systems UK. “Being carbon neutral helps to address the issues of climate change, particularly when it comes to the next generation and their future. It is vital to continue this work for the planet and for the health of everyone today and beyond. Whilst our research and development teams focus on the innovations required to reduce the energy usage of our medical imaging system in the near future, we are acting now with our carbon off-set scheme.”

Paul Chiplen, Director at CO2balance states, “It was great to be at BMUS 2019 with Canon Medical. There was great enthusiasm from delegates about how the medical imaging community can play its part in slowing the effects of climate change by reducing CO₂ in the earth’s atmosphere. There is real recognition that if we don’t all come together, at home and at work, in the quest to improve the health of the world, there will be greater medical issues or chronic illnesses facing people in all nations in the future. This will be from higher temperatures, flooding and other extreme weather events.”

The total CO₂ footprint figure calculated by the Canon Medical Carbon Zero scheme is verified by Gold Standard for Global Goals developed by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) or an approved auditor from the United Nations’ Division for Sustainable Development Goals. CO2balance also explained to BMUS delegates how Canon Medical’s Carbon Zero offset scheme works and how it helps fragile communities in East Africa by improving their day-to-day lives and eliminating CO₂ from wood fires and stoves used to cook or to sterilise water.

Support Dogs, the national charity that provides life changing assistance dogs to families, was also in attendance on the Canon Medical stand. A charitable collection from BMUS delegates raised over £650 that has been gratefully received.

Photo caption: Paul Chiplen, Director at CO2balance provided an education session on the Canon Medical stand at BMUS 2019 explaining carbon neutral diagnostic imaging systems and how equipment with environmental credentials help to make significant contributions to the health of the earth and fighting climate change.