Here's an article wich can be usefull to anyone loving and caring for Hyper Lady DB Antares but also to both Mr codename VR, Mr Rolph Gunther Chairman of the Department of Diagnostic Radiology at Aachen University of Technology and immediate past president of the European Association of Radiology
I just want to sincerly express that the purpose of this thread is not to stigmatize anyone but to understand how to improve and help the lives of ALL people coping with any specific difficulty
"Future research
Günther sees research as crucial for the survival of interventional radiology at universities and for the development of the subspecialty. He pointed out as key the progress being made in MR-guided interventions, computer-aided guidance, local drug and gene therapy, and the development of new materials for interventional instruments and implants."
http://www.cxvascular.com/in-archives/interventional-news-5/profile-rolf-gnther"
Profile: Rolf Günther
Wednesday, 17 Dec 2003 10:00
Rolf Günther, Chairman of the Department of Diagnostic Radiology at Aachen University of Technology and immediate past president of the European Association of Radiology, talked to Interventional News about his career, detailing his inspirations, achievements and commitment to training.
A nuclear beginning
The birth of Rolf Günther's career as an interventional radiologist can be traced back to the Nuclear Research Centre, Karlsruhe, Germany in 1967. Günther said that writing his thesis here on nuclear medicine was "a key issue that coined my professional life and my way into radiology".
On graduating from Heidelberg University in 1968, he later carried out one and a half years postgraduate training in its department of nuclear medicine - nuclear medicine being part of radiology at the time. From Heidelberg University, he followed his mentor Max Georgi to Mainz University, completing his training in radiology in 1975.
Influences
Reflecting on the teachers that had influenced him, Günther recalled that: "During my training at Heidelberg University, Max Georgi, who showed me how to do angiography and lymphography, proposed I go with him to Mainz University. This was a decisive step in my life. In addition, the Chairman of the Department of Radiology at Mainz University, Lothar Diethelm, provided every support to me I needed. Although he was no interventional radiologist in the current sense, he was one of the first German radiologists to do angiography. I admired his intellectual power and his abilities of image analysis in conventional radiography. Professor Thelen, his successor, managed the department in an innovative way with high competence and political skills and influenced my career very much. Seeing and experiencing how he managed his department was crucial in my development from an exclusively interventional radiologist to a chairman of a department."
Günther remembers the atmosphere at Mainz University as both innovative and cooperative. In particular, two famous clinical partners inspired his work in interventional radiology there, the surgeon Professor F. Kümmerle and the urologist R. Hohenfellner.
Being fascinated by diagnostic vascular interventions, Günther gradually expanded his activities into other types of interventions, such as percutaneous stone extraction, percutaneous lithotripsy, percutaneous biliary interventions, development of inferior vena cava filters, angioplasty as well as transcatheter embolization, and test occlusion of the carotid artery. He carried out experimental work, developing new devices and techniques such as percutaneous nephrostomy and endourological applications (development of puncture set, artificial ureteral occlusion, stone removal), transhepatic electropapillotomy, embolization of various organs using tissue adhesive, balloon occlusion test of the carotid artery, development of caval filters (temporary, retrievable), catheter for thrombus fragmentation and removal, laser and stent applications, and CT- and MRI-guided interventions.
Looking back at these times Günther said: "When I started with interventional radiology it was something new and we were very enthusiastic about developing a new technique nearly every day. There were several challenges such as developments of innovative techniques and instruments, research and scientific evaluation of interventional techniques, training and political issues."
"Interventional radiology was something very appealing to me and met my interest because it was so elegant and required high manual dexterity. I found interventional radiology to be a great challenge because it required a range of abilities such as excellent image analysis, clinical knowledge - in order to be able to establish correct indications for the intervention - high skill and a sure instinct. Interventional radiology is a sort of art for me."
Training the next generation
Before leaving Mainz University in 1984, Günther passed on his knowledge of interventional radiology to his residents Hans Schild and Klaus Klose, both of whom went on to became university chairmen in their own right at Bonn and Marburg, respectively.
Since 1984, Günther has been Professor and Chairman of the Department of Diagnostic Radiology at Aachen University of Technology. Despite becoming a chairman of a radiology department, with the extensive organisational work required in that position, he emphasised that he has "always reserved some time for interventional work".
When he took over the chair of diagnostic radiology at Aachen University, he continued to train young radiologists. His first resident in Aachen was Dierk Vorwerk. Since then more than 50 radiologists have completed their training in his department, with 14 becoming PhDs and six of these becoming chairmen in different departments of radiology in Germany. Most of these protégés have a special focus in or are specialists in interventional radiology.
European societies
Günther, who is immediate past president of the European Association of Radiology (EAR) and was president of the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) in 2000, explained the important roles that European radiological societies have to play. "The idea of a larger Europe, including Germany, was the result of the catastrophe of World War II and the experience of our previous European history. Perhaps you remember Churchill's famous speech in Zurich in 1945, where he explained his vision, which was realised by great European statesmen later on. The gradual formation of an economic and political European Union required a similar structuring to scientific societies, including radiology. I consider European structures in science and education as of the utmost importance. The ECR and EAR serve that purpose. That is why I dedicate some of my work to that goal".
Günther sees the ECR as the focus and showcase for the common efforts and achievements of radiology, primarily of a United Europe, but also of other countries throughout the world, thus providing a cosmopolitan forum for an exchange of ideas and innovations, a comprehensive scientific and educational programme, and an attractive, state-of-the-art technical exhibition. At this year's congress held in Vienna, he announced EAR plans to establish a European-wide training system. This proposal is one of a range of initiatives intended to promote even higher standards of training in radiologists across Europe.
According to Günther, the EAR is planning a European Certificate of Radiology as a quality standard, which would be a combined effort between UEMS, EAR and the national societies. He said: "It would be a voluntary exercise, an exit examination and does not replace the national board examinations, because the latter are legally binding. Such an examination prepared by radiologists themselves could also be a basis for an official examination that might be imposed upon us by the European authorities in the future."
The EAR has done a great deal for radiology training in Europe, for example guidelines, assessment programmes, courses, Eurorad etc, and a certificate would be a "logical consequence in harmonising European standards in training".
Günther continued: "The examinations could be passed perhaps by using electronic media or in direct connection with the ECR. In view of the fact that other societies are offering such examinations already I think it is necessary for us also to start such a concept as a pilot project."
Goals remaining
Talking about what remains for him to achieve, Günther said he had enjoyed a splendid career so far. "My goal is to see my residents and fellows equally lucky and successful in their personal and professional life and to provide the necessary conditions for them. An essential goal is also to further expand our research activities and our research laboratory particularly in MRI."
Future of interventional radiology in Europe
Günther believes that interventional radiologists need to fight for their subspecialty. He forecasts that the future of medicine in general will be dominated by economic issues, which will in turn have an important impact on interventional radiology. He emphasised that adequate reimbursement of interventional procedures is crucial for the survival of interventional radiology, calling for every political effort to be made to achieve this goal.
He continued with a further warning regarding 'turf battles' over interventional radiology. "We cannot assume to be a protected species and have to fight for our subspecialty. Direct access to patients and direct involvement in patient care must be our goal. Many people are astonished to hear that a radiologist does such procedures. We must try to make our work more public using mass media and PR. We are doing excellent work in interventional radiology and should talk about it."
Günther also believes that the demand that interventional radiology must be a separate component of radiology is simply not acceptable for Europe. "A separation of interventional radiology from radiology would have severe disadvantages for both interventional radiology and radiology. Interventional radiology would be easily separated from access to future imaging technology and recruitment of physicians. Radiology on the other hand would lose a most interesting aspect of its specialty."
He explained that in Europe, most interventional radiologists are part-time interventionalists because there are simply not enough interventional procedures in most hospitals. Therefore, the proposal that interventional radiology must be a specialty rather than a subspecialty may be valid in the US but not in Europe.
Future research
Günther sees research as crucial for the survival of interventional radiology at universities and for the development of the subspecialty. He pointed out as key the progress being made in MR-guided interventions, computer-aided guidance, local drug and gene therapy, and the development of new materials for interventional instruments and implants.
Rolf W. Günther
Born: 1943 in Strassburg, Germany
Education
1963-1968 University of Heidelberg and Vienna
Career
1969-1971 internship in several community hospitals.
1971-1975 residency in Radiology, University of Heidelberg and University of Mainz
1975-1984 assistant and associate professor at Mainz University
1984- Professor and Chairman, Dept. of Diagnostic Radiology, Aachen University of Technology, Aachen, Germany
Scientific Work
Experimental and clinical work in interventional radiology, development of new devices and techniques. In diagnostic non-interventional radiology: Uroradiology, endocrine and abdominal radiology
Publications
More than 400 publications and lectures at national and international meetings.
Several books: Interventional Radiology (in German), 2nd edition 1996; Vascular Interventions (in German) 1998, Ultrasound (in German) 7th edition 1995, German Year Book of Radiology 1991-1995. Two films on interventional radiology, several patents on interventional instruments and devices
Honours
Honorary Member of the Royal Röntgenray Soc. of Belgium
Corresponding Member of the Austrian Röntgenray Society and Swiss Society of Medical Radiology
Honorary Member of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA)
Honorary Member of the British Institute of Radiology
Member of the "Akademie der Naturforscher LEOPOLDINA"
Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists
1999 Honorary Fellow of the British Society of Interventional Radiology
2000 Honorary Member of the Japan Society of Radiology
2000 Swedish Society of Medical Radiology
Awards
1980 Alken Prize (Urology)
1995 Centennial Röntgen Prize of the University of Würzburg
1997 Gold Medal of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Society of Europe (CIRSE)
1998 Grüntzig Medal of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Society of Europe (CIRSE)
Honorary Lectures
Dotter Lecture 1991, Soc. Cardiovasc. Interv. Radiol., San Francisco
Grüntzig Lecture 1998 / Cardiovasc. and Intervent. Radiol. of Europe, Venice
Cook Lecture 1999 / Royal College of Radiologists, London
Olle Olsson Lecture 2000/ Swedish Society of Medical Radiology, Lund
Journal Editorship
European Editor of CVIR (1990-1995) Co-editor of RöFo since 1991, Editor in Chief of RöFo since 1994
General and Educational Activities
Referee in the German Research Council (DFG - Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, 1992-2000)
Member of the Council of the German Chamber of Physicians
Member of the Committee for Heavy Equipment Funding in the German Research Council since 1998
Vice-president of the European Congress of Radiology ECR 1999
Vice-president of the Educational Committee of the Europ. Assoc. of Radiology (EAR) 1995-1998
Vice-president of the European Association of Radiology since 1999
President of the European Congress of Radiology ECR 2000
Vice-President of the European Association of Radiology 1999-2001
President of the European Association of Radiology 2001-2002 - See more at:
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