WASHINGTON, DC — On Nov. 8, about 150 medical societies worldwide will mark the International Day of Radiology (IDoR) and celebrate the countless lives saved by emergency radiologists.

IDoR is sponsored by the American College of Radiology (ACR), Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and European Society of Radiology (ESR). It will include celebrations during National Radiologic Technology Week (Nov. 5–11). Nov. 8 also marks the 122nd anniversary of the discovery of the X-ray by German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen.

“Emergency radiologists are on the front lines of patient care 24/7/365 and deliver value-based imaging in the emergency room (ER),” said Robert S. Pyatt Jr., M.D., FACR, chair of the ACR Commission on General, Small, Emergency and/or Rural Practice. “They are vital in the timely diagnosis and management of emergency patients from head to toe,” he said.

“The International Day of Radiology celebrates the contributions that emergency radiologists make to the urgent diagnosis and care of critically ill and injured children and adults,” said Mary C. Mahoney, M.D., RSNA Board Liaison for Publications and Communications. “Although we celebrate this Day of Radiology only once every year, emergency radiologists save lives every day,” she added. 

Patients are the primary focus of all radiologic care, which is highlighted through the RSNA Radiology Cares initiative and the ACR Commission on Patient- and Family-Centered Care. ACR and RSNA jointly sponsor RadiologyInfo.org, an online patient resource that explains medical imaging tests and treatments in detailed, easy-to-understand language. This resource helps patients understand and prepare for more than 230 imaging procedures, tests and treatments, and disease/conditions.

Visit the International Day of Radiology website for news on related activities.