Fair Imaging

Social Cohesion and Medical Imaging

Follow us via Twitter hashtag: #FairImaging

Starting Point

Social cohesion is a worldwide grand challenge (OECD Perspectives on Global Development 2012). Growing inequality is widely considered to pose major threats to cohesion and integration. Health is consistently found to be crucial for life satisfaction (OECD Better Life Index) and, according to the Council of Europe, is one of the eight areas of life that determine social cohesion (Concerted development of social cohesion indicators). The Berlin University Alliance application lists health as one of eleven social cohesion issues (p. 65).

Funded by a grant from the Berlin University Alliance as part of the German Excellence Strategy of Federal Government and the States.

Research Need

While the association of socioeconomic status (SES) with mortality and social disparities in health outcomes are well documented (Chetty R et al. JAMA 2016, Siegrist J, Staudinger UM (eds.), Gesundheitliche Ungleichheit im Lebensverlauf, Leopoldina Forum, 2, 2019), there is a need to explore the association of SES with the quality of medical care and effects on social (dis)integration processes. In particular, very little is known about the association between SES and the quality, timelines and clinical outcomes of diagnostic medical imaging, despite its decisive role in the care processes (Glover M et al. JACR 2017, Schrager JD et al. JACR 2019). Growing heterogeneity of our multicultural society raises new challenges and requires a better understanding of the interactions with medical care (Sohn & Timmermans Socius 2017, McKay & Timmermans JHSB 2017).

Proposal Goals

This proposal has two goals: 1) To connect a transdisciplinary team of researchers from the Berlin universities and non-university institutions in a concrete project analyzing social inequalities in medical imaging and the ensuing diagnosis and treatment decisions. 2) To identify promising avenues for further long-term trans-institutional and trans-disciplinary cooperation within the framework of the Berlin University Alliance.

Applicants

1. Professor Nina Baur, Twitter: @NinaBaur 
2. Professor Marc Dewey, Twitter: @ProfDewey
3. Professor Martin Gersch, Twitter: @gersch_martin
4. Professor Johannes Giesecke
5. Priv. Doz. Ulrike Grittner
6. Dr. Jannis Hergesell
7. Professor Nina Knoll
8. Professor Ulf Leser
9. Professor Timo Schmid
10. Professor Gertraud Stadler (Turu)
11. Professor Fabian Prasser
12. Priv. Doz. Nina Rieckmann
13. Dr. Verena Vogt, Twitter: @VogtVerena
14. Professor Holger Amthauer

Participants from University research institutions outside of Berlin

1. Assistant Professor Oleg Pianykh

Participants from non-university research institutions

1. Professor Hans-Christian Hege
2. Dr. Jan-Paul Heisig, Twitter: @jpheisig
3. Priv.-Doz.,Dr. Thomas Lampert
4. Professor Thomas Zahn

Patient Advisor

1. Birgit Bauer, Twitter: @birgitpower

Current participants from outside academia

1. Dr. rer. medic h.c. Helmut Hildebrandt and Dr. Oliver Gröne (PhD MSc)
2. Dr. Leila Akremi 
3. Dr. med. Kerstin Westphalen

Further scientific collbarators

1. Dr. Oliver Gröne
2. Professor Hans-Joachim Wagner
3. Professor Sven Mutze
4. Marie Helene Mandrela
5. Dipl.-Inf. Danilo Schmidt
6. Dr. Peter Brunecker
7. Michael Mallach
8. Martin Peuker
9. Dr. Melanie Estrella
10. Maria Bosserdt
11. Hans Tepe
12. Rafael Poschmann
13. M. Sc. Sepehr Zargaran
14. Dr. Christian Wald
15. Stefan Kalinowski
16. Dr. Eleftheria Alevronta, Twitter: @ealevronta
17. Mahmoud Mohamed
18. Felix Skarke
19. Dr. phil Niels Michalski, Twitter: @NielsMichalski
20. Martina Traub

Project Updates:

21.05.2020, online pre-call team meeting
Fully online 3rd meet of the #FairImaging pre-call team of @BerlinUAlliance. We looked at the first results on social cohesion and medical imaging with partners from @HumboldtUni, @TUBerlin, @FU_Berlin and @ChariteBerlin. It is fun working with you. Thank you!

18.05.2020, Results of the latest meeting:

• The first preliminary results for the image data of about 600,000 patients from Berlin-Brandenburg are available and will be published soon.
• A full proposal “FairImaging” on Social Cohesion and Medical Imaging will be submitted at the end of the month.

Further important achievements: IRB approval, DSFA, beginning of data transfer integration.

10.05.2020 – New blog entry: When a stroke happens: ENG & DEU

05.05.2020 – New blog entry on congenital heart defects: ENG & DEU 

03.03.2020 – New blog entry on patients perspective & fair imaging

Blogentries by @BirgitPower on the patients perspective & fair imaging give a great insight on why our project is so important.

Patient begins CT examination

04.02.2020

Task Force 6 of #FairImaging led by @VogtVerena has agreed to suggest using ICD chapters of admittance diagnoses as a confounder for the statistical analysis.

Task Force 7 of #FairImaging led by Ulrike Grittner has met to develop standard procedures for the planned statistical analysis.

Task Force 10 of #FairImaging led by Eleftheria Alevronta has started proposing categorizations of effective radiation doses for specific medical imaging.

#FairImaging presentation during Berlin University Alliance Workshop

January 27, 2020

The #FairImaging project was presented during the Berlin University Alliance Workshop by Prof. Marc Dewey (@ProfDewey) today. The picture is taken from the fish bowl of the workshop with Naika Foroutan (@naikaforoutan) from Humboldt Universität Berlin, Stephanie Schmidt from ZDF, Thomas Risse from Freie Universität Berlin, Martina Löw from Technische Universität Berlin and Rainer Haag from Freie Universität Berlin.

First meeting of #FairImaging consortium.

January 8. & 9., 2020
 
Social Cohesion and Medical Imaging Meeting
The kick off meeting for the work on Social Cohesion and Medical Imaging within the “Berlin University Alliance” took place on 8. & 9. of January in the “Window of Science” in the CCO at the Charité Campus Mitte. We are looking forward to the results of this promising cooperative project!

#FairImaging on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/ProfDewey/status/1219180410329944065

#FairImaging project of @BerlinUAlliance started with a talk by Oleg Pianykh @ChariteBerlin with partners from @FU_Berlin @HumboldtUni @TUBerlin. @VogtVerena, @Birgitpower, @NinaBaur, @gersch_martin, @jpheisig, @NielsMichalski et al. Let’s reach for the stars!