Improving radiation safety in medical imaging children

The four-year RHYTHM project, which was recently launched, aims to improve the quality and radiation safety of medical imaging for children, adolescents, and young adults, with a particular focus on CT, SPECT/CT, PET/CT, and CT as part of radiotherapy planning. Rutger Jan Nievelstein, professor of pediatric radiology, Hugo de Jong, professor of medical physics in radiology and nuclear medicine, and Arnold Schilham, medical physicist at UMC Utrecht, are involved.

Given the sensitivity of this population to ionizing radiation and the urgent need for optimized imaging practices, RHYTHM addresses key challenges in the areas of justification, optimization, availability, and accessibility of imaging services. These challenges include inappropriate imaging practices, inequalities in access to specialized pediatric imaging equipment, and insufficient education and outreach to healthcare providers and patients.

RHYTHM aims to address these issues through an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach, involving stakeholders from healthcare, industry, regulatory bodies, and patient advocacy groups. 

Scope & objectives:

• Improving justification and optimisation practices, incl. the development of evidence-based recommendations for referral guidelines, clinical guidelines, and clinical decision support systems 

• Facilitating accessibility to dedicated imaging equipment and services, incl. the development of optimized imaging protocols tailored to paediatric and young adult needs 

• Advancing education and training curricula and materials tailored to multidisciplinary professional groups to enhance capacity building 

• Implementing outreach campaigns to raise awareness about imaging safety and the benefits of optimised practices among parents, young adults, and healthcare providers 

The project is funded by EU4Health and will run until 2029. It involves close collaboration from UMC Utrecht with 19 international partners.