Role of imager in developing world

Abstract

Medical imaging in the developing world is done by radiologists trained in the west or in the western manner. Yet they have to practise the specialty with equipment that is unreliable, poorly maintained, and difficult to repair. Developing countries face economic hardship, and the scarcity of radiologists and of imaging equipment is likely to continue. If used as the first, and very often the only, imaging technique, ultrasound has great advantages in such settings. Medical schools in the developing world and WHO should support training programmes in clinical ultrasound, a skill that could be offered to all doctors, not just radiologists.