Dear colleagues,
I have given myself a new role, I am now, among other things, an RNA string (a “Related Noninvasive Actor”)... and I saw myself playing this part during EuroPCR 2010 as I presided over our last EuroIntervention International Editors’ Board meeting – a meeting incredibly well attended by both our senior and junior editors. These junior editors are very implicated in the activities of our journal, and the new blood they represent, along with their own unique outlook on our profession, are refreshing and essential for the continuation of our work.
In the lively discussions that marked this Board meeting, we were pleased to receive complements on our recently released imaging supplement, and while everyone enjoys hearing compliments, they were, finally, the easy part of the discussion. Soon, the talk turned to other aspects of imaging including their continued and growing importance for us in interventional medicine, the perceived need to keep up with the myriad of changes in this complex field, all leading to the point when the critical question was raised – and for which I had no answer – Why does the European community have no dedicated journal for imaging?
I thought about it, and quickly my friends and colleagues, Jos Roelandt and Hans Reiber came to mind, they, who are leading with such great success their European Journal of Echocardiography and the International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging. This was my first response. But the attendees pressed me more closely, asking specifically why we do not have “EuroImaging” or something like that, an off-shoot of a European cardiovascular journal that would both complete it – and compete, intellectually, of course – with the likes of JACC Imaging and Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging. As the discussion unfolded, I could not agree more with those on the Board who worried that we must do something now, so that Europe does not fall behind that other continent... something that would only serve to increase the gap between Europe and the United States.
On one hand, I believe that EuroIntervention has a modest contribution to play here, one that could take the form of what we saw in May, this year’s non-invasive and invasive imaging publication: a once-yearly supplement on the subject. We spoke about how, since our journal will increase our regular publication schedule to once a month in 2011, that perhaps EuroIntervention could have a dedicated section, specifically on imaging.
But is this enough?
Many of our colleagues insist on the fact that non-invasive imaging tools are both integrated and incorporated immediately to our usage, providing more and more essential guidance in our indications and treatment. Take, for instance, Dyna CT, which is an integrated MSCT used in interventions; or Imris equipment with MRI installed on the ceiling, the move from a diagnostic or surgical room to the cathlab is a fine example of these developments; the integration of MSCT in the Navigant software for magnetic navigation, not to mention 3D TEE used during all interventions in structural heart disease... You can see, that the list is endless, constantly changing and evolving – and hard to keep up with.
Now, as I said at the beginning, I only want to convey the thoughts of others. I am merely, as I explained, an RNA string… so you shouldn’t take this as a disguised call for creating “EuroCardiovascular Imaging”. Or should you? Clearly the boundaries between the diagnostic guidance for treatment and the assessment of the treatment are becoming more vague… if not closer, and it would be a shame for Europe to pass by what is both innovative and essential for all of us in interventional medicine... but remember, I am only relating what others said... and thinking out loud in the process, remembering that this journal, EuroIntervention, was once just an idea itself, until we all sat down and made it what it is today.
