The International Day of Radiology (IDoR) was celebrated around the world on 8 November as radiology professionals observed the anniversary of Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen's discovery of x-rays on this date in 1895.
The International Day of Radiology was created to acknowledge Röntgen's discovery, as well as to highlight the contributions made by radiology and medical imaging professionals to healthcare. The initiative is sponsored by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), the American College of Radiology (ACR), and the European Society of Radiology (ESR), along with the support of other radiology societies.
IDoR has a different theme each year, with 2019's theme being sports imaging. A special website launched in observance of IDoR 2019 includes profiles of major sports figures such as Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr., and Megan Rapinoe, all of whom have sustained injuries for which radiology helped guide treatment and return the players to competition.
Radiology departments and societies around the world celebrated IDoR 2019 with a variety of events and observances -- some more serious than others. Many documented their events on Twitter with the hashtag #IDoR2019.
At the ESR headquarters in Vienna, a huge model of a human skull -- painted in a floral scheme and titled "Cranium florens" -- was unveiled as an art installation to raise awareness of the significance of radiology and its role in modern medicine. The installation was inspired by Dr. Paul Parizel, president of the 2017 ECR, who has always been fascinated by imagery of skulls with flowers as symbols combining death with life and love, according to the ESR.
Happy International Day of Radiology!#IDoR2019 #EuropeanRadiologyCares
— ESR Journals (@ESR_Journals) November 8, 2019
Click here to learn more about this beautiful art installation: https://t.co/UozKM3kYHO pic.twitter.com/OU7Is0bpoJ
In Bulgaria, radiology staff took IDoR 2019's sports theme and ran with it:
A big thank you to the staff at Acibadem City Hospital in #Bulgaria 🇧🇬 for these wonderful #pictures! #IDOR2019 pic.twitter.com/UqubLlWBFB
— myESR (@myESR) November 7, 2019
Other sites celebrated with specially themed sweet treats:
A very Happy World Radiography Day to all of our team and clients! #worldradiographyday #worldradiographyday2019 #internationaldayofradiology #internationaldayofradiology2019 pic.twitter.com/66ZRmoG0Cd
— Global Diagnostics (@GlobalDiagnIre) November 8, 2019
Cake 😋#idor2019 pic.twitter.com/3e7k9Kp5pS
— Srinivas Dandamudi (@dandamudivasu) November 8, 2019
And some members of the Twitterverse posted images of past applications of radiology that might not comply with today's appropriate use guidelines:
Happy #IDOR2019! 124 years since the discovery of Xrays.
— Jason Nagels, CIIP, PMP (@jaynagels) November 8, 2019
Here are a couple examples of not the most appropriate use of Xrays.😂
From using Xrays for posture contests and buying the right-sized shoe! pic.twitter.com/BAygWELfCG
