Organisation and practice of radiological ultrasound in Europe: a survey by the ESR Working Group on Ultrasound

OBJECTIVES To gather information from radiological departments in Europe assessing the organisation and practice of radiological ultrasound and the diagnostic practice and training in ultrasound. METHODS A survey containing 38 questions and divided into four groups was developed and made available online. The questionnaire was sent to over 1,000 heads of radiology departments in Europe. RESULTS Of the 1,038 radiologists asked to participate in this survey, 123 responded. Excluding the 125 invitations to the survey that could not be delivered, the response rate was 13 %. CONCLUSION Although there was a low response rate, the results of this survey show that ultrasound still plays a major role in radiology departments in Europe: most departments have the technical capabilities to provide patients with up-to-date ultrasound examinations. Although having a centralised ultrasound laboratory seems to be the way forward, most ultrasound machines are spread between different departments. Ninety-one per cent of answers came from teaching hospitals reporting that training is regarded as an art and is needed in order to learn the basics of scanning techniques, after which working in an organ-oriented manner is the best way to learn how to integrate diagnostic US within the clinical context and with all other imaging techniques. MAIN MESSAGES • Hospitals should introduce centralised ultrasound laboratories to allow for different competencies in US under the same roof, share human and technological resources and reduce the amount of equipment needed within the hospital. • Technique-oriented teaching, time and examinations are necessary to learn how to use US properly within the framework of organ-oriented training. • A time period of about 6 months dedicated solely to learning US scanning techniques is deemed sufficient in most cases.