A big part of the solutions is collaboration through organizations such as RSNA to educate and advocate worldwide with health ministries, DeStigter said.

In her work with ITW, portable ultrasound, with its low power needs and relative ease of use, has effectively improved imaging services. Among the ITW outcomes DeStigter cited in their efforts in Uganda and Malawi, including:

1: A 25 percent change in medical management from basic scan finding.

2: Reliable obstetric sweeps for accurate dating and identification of complications.

3: A 70 percent increase in both routine antenatal visits and skilled deliveries as a result of scan “magnet effect”.

4: Successful workforce development — ten advanced imaging non-M.D. degrees and six M.D. degrees in the past ten years.

5: Almost one million patient, family, and community beneficiaries over ten years.

“There are many great efforts, too numerous to mention, by stakeholders around the world who want to raise imaging services,” DeStigter concluded. “We have an obligation to improve equitable access to radiology service for all people … There is incredible skill, talent, and passion in our radiology community. And there is goodwill, and there is empathy, and there is hope."

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