The European Society of Radiology (ESR) is an international medical society based in Vienna, Austria dedicated to the promotion and coordination of scientific, philanthropic, intellectual and professional activities of radiology in Europe. In addition to various other activities, the ESR serves as an umbrella organisation for European radiologists, organises the annual European Congress of Radiology (ECR) and coordinates the publication of European Radiology, a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal. Additionally, the ESR pilots the harmonisation of teaching programmes throughout Europe with various activities and initiatives.
History
Founded in 2005, the European Society of Radiology (ESR) was created through the merger of two established radiological societies; the European Association of Radiology (EAR), a federation of national radiological societies founded in 1962, and the European Congress of Radiology (ECR), the organising body of the eponymous congress which was first held in 1967<ref name="Thomas, The EAR">Thomas, A. M., Banerjee, A. K., Busch, U., Buzzi, A., & Livadas, G. (2007). The European Association of Radiology 1962-2007 A Vision Realised. Vienna: The European Association of Radiology. Retrieved July 4, 2019, from https://www.myesr.org/EAR_History.</</ref>
The EAR was established on the 15th of December, 1962 through the efforts of Boris Rajewsky of the Max Planck Institute in Frankfurt and Charles Marie Gros of the University of Strasbourg who would become the association’s first president and first secretary-general respectively. The EAR was tasked with coordinating a European congress and establishing a European counterpart to the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), which had existed since 1915. By the time it was formally registered, the association comprised radiological member societies from nine countries - Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and West Germany. The European Congress of Radiology was to be held every four years in a different European city, starting in 1967 which Barcelona with took place in conjunction with the Radiological Federation of Latin Culture (Féderation Radiologique de Culture Latine).
After successor congresses were held in Amsterdam (1971), Edinburgh (1975), Hamburg (1979), Bordeaux (1983) and Lisbon (1987), the EAR in 1985 founded a committee, chaired by Josef Lissner of the University of Munich, specifically tasked with organising future congresses. An ever-changing location and the lack of a consistent group of experienced radiologists responsible for the congresses were deemed obstacles to the most effective congress possible. As a result, the committee ultimately decided that the frequency of the congress should be increased to every two years and a permanent host location be selected.
As the late 1980s, early 1990s was marked by the fall of the iron curtain and a call for greater European cooperation, a suitable host location was sought that could embody these ideals. Situated near the then border between eastern and western Europe, Vienna was chosen to host all future congresses beginning in 1991. By the late 1980s, the Verein Europaeischer Roentgenkongress, or European Congress of Radiology (ECR), had been founded and a congress-organising institution was established at the Medical University of Vienna, both in support of the biennial meeting. With ECR’91, EAR remained a federation of national societies who sent delegates to the general assembly at the end of every congress. Due to the growing success of the ECR, it was decided that the congress would be held annually from 1999 on.
By the beginning of the 2000s it had become clear to EAR leadership that a unified organisation combining all aspect of radiology including the ECR would better serve European radiology interests moving into the future. As the EAR had a federal structure with a restricted financial base, a new association would be necessary in order to create a unified “House of European Radiology” that could effectively combine the numerous and diverse responsibilities from the EAR and various congress planning organisations.
After more than three years of meetings and discussions, the General Assembly of EAR held in the Austria Center Vienna on March 7, 2005 unanimously approved of the statutes of the ESR, paving the way for the creation of the society as it functions today. Nicholas Gourtsoyiannis of the University of Crete, a guiding force behind the creation of the ESR and president of ECR 2003, served as its first president from December 2005 to March 2007.