MEDICAL IMAGING IN THE 21ST-CENTURY

Imaging has been one of the success stories of 20th century medicine b ut is now under pressure from tight healthcare budgets and from profes sional competition. The 21st century will need a very different type o f radiologist, one trained not just in imaging but also in more basic disciplines and in informatics. Research in radiology will need more a ttention than hitherto, and the imager of tomorrow will have to defend his or her specialty against the charge of ''expensive high technolog y'' and adapt, by taking a more market oriented approach to the added value that the specialty provides.