A review of MRI studies in Africa with special focus on quantitative MRI: Historical development, current status and the role of medical physicists.

This scoping review provides overview on the historical and major developments, current status, quantitative magnetic resonance (MR) studies and the role of medical physics bodies in MR imaging in Africa. The study analyzed MRI availability in 32 (59 %) of the 54 African countries. South Africa and Egypt have the most dominant MR systems. Number of MR systems in the 4 northern countries (Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Libya) alone constitute 53 % of the total number of machines in the studied countries. Less than one-third of the countries have 1 MR system serving less than a million population. Libya recorded the most MR systems per million population. The studied countries altogether have an average of 1 machine per million population. The private sector far dominates number of installed MR systems across the region, making up two-thirds of the distribution. A major challenge was revealed where less than 3 % of Medical Physicists in the studied countries are engaged in MRI facilities. Review of MRI published studies in the last 5 years indicates dominance of literature on brain studies and most of such published works coming from Nigeria. Only 7 out of 27 published studies reviewed were quantitative. The African region has no dedicated MRI physics societies; however, the regional medical physics body and national associations have big roles to play in developing MRI through education, research, training and leveraging on awareness creation. Thisreview is the first of such wide scale study on MRI availability and quantitative studies in the African region.

Size-Specific Dose Estimates for Thoracic and Abdominal Computed Tomography Examinations at Two Moroccan Hospitals.

Size-specific dose estimates (SSDE) are the latest topic of interest in patient radiation-dose studies in computed tomography (CT). The aim of this study is to calculate and evaluate the doses (SSDE) by measuring the effective diameter (ED) of cross-sectional images collected during CT examinations of the chest and abdomen in Moroccan hospitals. Doses (SSDE) were calculated based on cross-sectional images by measuring the effective diameters of 75 patients in both examinations (45 for the thorax and 30 for the abdomen). Specific conversion factors for (ED) were used to convert the registered CTDIvol to SSDE, according to the instruction in the American Association of Physicists (AAPM) Report 204. In thoracic CT, the CTDIvol and SSDE values ranged from 5.8 to 10.7 mGy (mean: 8.08) and 9.55 to 15.37 mGy (mean: 12.13), respectively. For abdominal CT, CTDIvol and SSDE values ranged from 4.8 to 12.2 mGy (mean: 7.95) and 8.01 to 14.15 mGy (mean: 11.31), respectively. The results show that the SSDE is a useful tool and could potentially educate CT operators on its effective use as a way to optimize radiation dose instead of CTDIvol, in particular to establish diagnostic reference levels.

Local diagnostic reference levels (LDRLs) for full-field digital mammography (FFDM) and digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) procedures in Morocco.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to establish local diagnostic reference levels (LDRLs) for the full-field digital mammography (FFDM) and tomosynthesis (DBT) in Moroccan health facilities. METHODS: Data from 146 women were collected from three facilities. The proposed DRLs were defined as the 75th percentile of the mean average glandular dose (AGD) distribution. RESULTS: The mean AGD recorded in this study for the three centers was 1.47 mGy for all centers, and 1.42 mGy and 1.64 mGy for the CC and MLO projections, respectively. The mean compressed breast thickness (CBT) values recorded in this current study were 55 mm, the LDRLs reported for all centers was 1.7 mGy, the CC projection was 1.6 mGy, and the MLO projection was 1.8 mGy. In addition, the LDRLs reported in the current study were compared with those from previous studies for other countries, including the United Kingdom, Japan, Ghana, and Sri Lanka. CONCLUSION: This work provides an assessment of local DRLs for mammography in Morocco and is suggested as a starting point that will allow professionals to evaluate and optimize their practice. Furthermore, the definition of national DRLs is a necessary process in optimizing Moroccan medical exposures.