The Medical Imaging Technology Roadmap: An Overview

Technology Roadmaps (TRMs)

A technology roadmap aims to forecast the needs of tomorrow's markets. It helps companies to identify, select and develop technology alternatives to satisfy future service, product or operational needs. Via the roadmapping process, companies in a given sector can pool their resources and work together with academia and governments to look as many as 10 or 15 years into the future and determine what their specific market will require.

For more information about technology roadmapping, or to find out about other TRMs which Industry Canada has facilitated, please visit Industry Canada's TRM home page.

The Medical Imaging TRM

The vision driving the Medical Imaging TRM is to improve patient care and enhance the global competitiveness of the Canadian medical sector by strengthening technology development, diffusion and adoption. The goal is to provide private and public sector decision makers with a forecast of technology needs, tied to market demands for improved patient care, that they can use to guide product development, investment, training and other policy decisions.

Participants in the Medical Imaging TRM

Approximately 75 people, representing more than 50 organizations, have participated in the Medical Imaging TRM process. A 14-person Steering Committee, representing researchers, clinicians and industry, identified the key technologies and issues to be addressed in the TRM process, and established the five Working Groups which produced the forecasting reports that together comprise the finished roadmap.

The Working Groups and their respective areas of concentration are:

WG1: Future Needs for Medical Imaging in Health Care - changes in demographics, technology and medicine and their impact on medical imaging;

WG2: Image Generation and Capture - radiography and fluoroscopy, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, image-guided surgery, nuclear imaging, electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography and ultrasound;

WG3: Transmission and Connectivity - professional, technical and ethical issues related to telehealth and health care information sharing;

WG4: Image Analysis and Visualization - image integration, analysis and visualization, image-guided therapy and systems for simulation and training;

WG5: Emerging Technologies with Emphasis on Photonics - photonics-based in vivo clinical technologies and laboratory-based technologies.

The Role of Industry Canada

As is the case for all technology roadmaps with which Industry Canada is involved, the Medical Imaging TRM is led by industry. Industry Canada acts as a catalyst and project facilitator.

At the beginning of the Medical Imaging TRM process, and acting on the recommendation of the Steering Committee, Industry Canada commissioned ORTECH Corporation to produce a medical imaging discussion paper, the purpose of which was to help in identifying the technologies and issues that the TRM would address. As the project developed, Industry Canada assisted in the recruitment of members for the Working Groups established by the Steering Committee, and facilitated their meetings. With the notable exception of a teleconference, most Working Group meetings were held by conference call. Industry Canada also established a dedicated Web site which was used to enhance telephone and e-mail communications.

Further information on the Medical Imaging TRM, including the five Working Group reports and contact information for the project facilitator, is available from the Medical Imaging TRM home page.