Abstract #0418

Medical physics mentoring through a RAD-AID International partnership with Intermed Hospital in Mongolia: Development and initial visit

Joseph Weygand^1,2, Batnasan Shagdarsuren³, Tamir Munkhtuvshin³, Bayarbaatar Bold³, Khulan Khurelsukh³, Eman Suliman⁴, John M. Bryant⁵, Gage Redler⁵, Benjamin C. Musall⁶, Shauna M. McVorran¹, Travis C. Salzillo⁷, Sharon Mohammed^2,8, and Daniel J. Mollura²

¹Department of Radiation Oncology and Applied Sciences, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH, United States, ²RAD-AID International, Chevy Chase, MD, United States, ³Department of Radiology, Intermed Hospital, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, ⁴Department of Medicine, Al-Zahraa Hospital University Medical Center, Cairo, Egypt, ⁵Department of Radiation Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, United States, ⁶Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston McGovern Medical School, Houston, TX, United States, ⁷Department of Radiation Physics, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States, ⁸Department of Radiology, Bellevue Hospital, New York, NY, United States

Synopsis

Keywords: Safety, Health Care Economics, Global Health, Outreach

Motivation: Despite wide application in high-income countries, MRI is largely underutilized in low- and middle-income countries³ (LMIC’s). One reason is a lack of expertise in MRI physics in LMIC’s. RAD-AID International is an organization engaged in radiological outreach and is active in over twenty countries.

Goal(s): In this abstract, a roadmap for an MRI physics mentorship partnership is presented and illustrated at a private hospital in Northeast Asia.

Approach: A physicist volunteering for RAD-AID International visited Intermed Hospital in Mongolia.

Results: He taught the basics of MRI physics, optimized their imaging protocols, and established a quality assurance program. Collaboration will be ongoing.

Impact: MRI is underutilized in low-resource settings. One impediment to its utilization is lack of physics expertise. In this work, a roadmap is presented whereby a philanthropic organization partners with an Asian hospital to better incorporate physics concepts into clinic practice.

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