More than 1,800 delegates from 30 countries attended the International Conference on Radiation Medicine entitled ‘Clinical Applications and Innovative Approaches’ which was inaugurated here on Monday.

Speaking at the inauguration, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center CEO Dr. Qasim Al-Qasabi said his hospital was the first facility in Saudi Arabia to provide the clinical radiotherapy TrueBeam system in 2012.

“I take great pride in stating that the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center has been able to serve patients as one of the leading centers worldwide, equipped with RapidArc, CyberKnife and TomoTherapy, making this institution a leading health care center in the region and one of only a few centers worldwide to host all three modalities within one location,” he said.

As a result of all of these modalities, treatments increased by 30 percent in 2013 providing significant enhancements to the quality of services. In 2013, the facility was recognized by the International Atomic Energy Agency as an “IAEA Collaborating Center” in Radiation Medicine.

The King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center which is accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCIA), is a leading tertiary health care institution in the region providing a full range of medical services including organ transplantation, cardiac services, medical genetics, neurosciences oncology and pediatric hematology oncology.

Speaking about the conference, Al-Qasabi said the unique feature of this year’s event is that it is being conducted jointly with the annual meetings of both the Radiological Society of Saudi Arabia (RSSA) and the Saudi Society of Medical Radiological Technologists (SSMRT).

He said the event will address the latest innovative approaches to radiation technology and its application in clinical arena. It has been organized by the Biomedical Physics Department of the Research Center, the Oncology Center, and the Department of Radiology at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, in collaboration with national and international institutions and societies. These include the International Atomic Energy Agency, the World Health Organization, the Ministry of Health,the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority,the Radiological Society of Saudi Arabia and the Saudi Society of Medical Radiological.

“This event provides an opportunity for renowned clinicians, scientists and other health professionals to share current clinical applications and future innovative approaches in the field of radiation medicine. The goal is to create an environment that promotes basic science, applied research as well as clinical applications in radiation medicine. This is vital to support health care professionals in providing safe and quality patient care,” he said.

Belal Mofftah, chairman of the conference, said the purpose of the conference is to educate and help people diagnose and treat cancer and other patients using radiation without its exposure to patients as well as to other people.

At King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, the Department of Radiology houses state-of-the-art equipment and, in 2013, it conducted a total of almost 240,000 radiological procedures. Of this, over 19,600 MRI’s were performed and more than 8,000 interventional procedures were undertaken using procedures like CT, ultrasound and angio-fluoroscopy.