Bulletin Number Two 1985

cure rate in the best centres. It is my wish that the Clinical Oncology Department will offer the best service possible to cancer patients in the New Territories. Since the number of patients is high, this needs not only technical expertise but also an exercise in logistics. It also involves caring for the patient as a whole and having sympathy for and understanding of his tragic condition. One of our goals is to improve public awareness of the possible symptoms of cancer and of the advantage of early treatment. In addition, the Clinical Oncology Department hopes to undertake research in several areas. One of these will involve epidemiological studies with other Departments of the frequencies and patterns of distribution in the community of certain cancers. We will also hope to study methods for improving results of cancer treatment, such as the use of multiple- fractions-per-day radiotherapy, as well as the use of new drugs and combinations of chemotherapy and radiation in the management of certain tumours such as lung cancer. I hope also that we shall study the use of hyperthermia (heat treatment) in certain clinical tumours not cured by other methods and carry out laboratory research, growing tumour cells in tissue culture and examining the cytotoxic action of chemotherapeutic agents. -W.M.C Martin Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Organ Imaging The Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Organ Imaging (DROID) is responsible for carrying out investigation of diseases by different processes, all of which produce an image of the internal organs of the body. The basic methods used are: Radiography, using the transmission of X-rays with or without selective contrast addition or injection; Computerized Tomography which also uses X-rays but effectively represents slices of the body as X-ray attenuation values; Scintigraphy in which special radiopharmaceuticals are injected and images obtained of the emitted gamma rays from the organ systems selected by the specific radiopharmaceutical ； and Ultrasound, whose images, like Computerized Tomography, are of slices of the body but are obtained by utilizing the reflected echoes of high-frequency mechanical vibrations. Although many of the images can be interpreted by clinicians, the practicality of image acquisition, the complexity of choice of appropriate investigation strategy and the trained interpretation of the images necessitate specialization in the field. Because the origins of such diagnostic skills have long been the prerogative of Radiologists, most of these investigative modalities tend to come under their control as is the case in the Prince of Wales Hospital. Radiologists are medically trained and work hand in glove with Radiographers whose training is more technical, and are assisted by radiological nursing staff in the performance of invasive procedures. The large amount of diagnostic data handled each day would of course be lost without an efficient secretarial, clerical and records staff who are essential to the smooth running of the departments. The last few years have seen an explosion in the modalities available, which has resulted in increased definition and identification of disease processes virtually unimaginable even ten years ago. Radiologists are now becoming increasingly involved in patient management decisions and in interventional radiology. This is the application of imaging techniques in obtaining biopsies, draining abnormal collections of fluids and occluding or dilating pathological blood vessels. So there is, and will be, an increasing therapeutic role being played by the DROID. Such a considerable portion of diagnosis decision making and monitoring of patient's progress now falls on the service specialities, of which DROID is one, that an inefficient use and overload of these departments creates bottlenecks in patient management with its resultant waiting lists, inefficient use of hospital beds filled with patients waiting for investigations, and attendant distress of patients and their relatives. It is hoped that the DROID can be developed into an aggressive and efficient diagnostic unit serving the community, the clinical staff and the University to equal the best standards possible in the world today. —C. Metreweli RECENT DEVELOPMENTS 9