Nairobi Regional Teleradiology Centre

IOM established a second teleradiology Center, the IOM Regional Teleradiology Center, in 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya. The Regional Centre currently provides teleradiology primary reading and radiology support for both IOM and non-IOM locations in the sub-Saharan Africa region.

The technical preparation including PACS networking, user training, recruitment and induction of the staff, as well as putting in place the infrastructure and system was led by the IOM Global Teleradiology and QC Center in Manila, in coordination with MHD HQ and the IOM Regional Office for the East and Horn of Africa. The Global Center and provides direct technical support, guidance, and oversight to the Regional Center, as well as conducts teleradiology quality control CXR readings and provides feedback recommendations.

The Regional Center plays a significant role in helping to connect areas across sub-Saharan Africa and improving the quality of CXR readings and radiology services for IOM Migration Health Assessment Centers, thereby contributing to the detection of TB, especially in remote areas without access to expert radiologists.

The Global and Regional Centers collaborate to ensure efficient and accurate reporting of cases, timely and fast resolution of any issues and a smooth teleradiology workflow.

The Regional Center, like the Global Center, has continued expanding capacity and number of locations supported. Temporarily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Regional Center has enhanced its capacity to handle the increased caseload from the significant surge in migrant health assessments in the region in 2022.  

Major Achievements of the IOM Regional Teleradiology Centre

• Expanded the Teleradiology primary reading service to location in the region in short span of time. As of November 2022,  the IOM Regional Teleradiology Center was networked to 95 PACS locations, including 19 non-IOM location, and teleradiology primary reading services to the networked locations,
• Provided radiology technical support and audit visits to several IOM Migration Health Assessment Centres in the region including provision of direct technical guidance to several IOM operations during the purchase of X-ray machines, establishment of X-ray units and other radiology related matters.
• Implemented internal quality compliance mechanism designed and developed by the global Center, including internal QA monitoring processes including the peer review and internal monitoring CXR readings.
• Coordinated the research proposal for the splenomegaly for the project initiative coordination with US CDC on the accuracy of the use of Teleradiology for measuring splenomegaly for abdominal ultrasound images of migrants in the comp.