The 2024 Journées Francophones de Radiologie congress in Paris places patients at the center by inviting 16 patient associations to share their experiences through podcasts, dedicated sessions, and interactive stands that demonstrate how radiologists guide patients through their care journey while integrating AI technology.
- 16 patient associations are actively participating in the JFR congress held October 8-11 in Paris, with dedicated stands and podcasts sharing patient perspectives on radiology care
- Patient-radiologist interaction is explored across eight key steps, from screening invitations through follow-up care, barriers and fears, and the role of AI in diagnosis
- Three specialized sessions per subspecialty demonstrate radiology's broader role: comparing conventional surgery versus interventional radiology, showing multidisciplinary team decision-making, and explaining personalized AI-driven diagnosis
- The congress emphasizes that AI will not replace human radiologists, but rather enhance their ability to provide personalized patient care and risk assessment
- The French radiology society previously launched Irene, a patient-focused chatbot, to provide accurate medical information and reduce reliance on unscientific online sources
Patients will be placed centerstage at this year's national radiology meeting, the Journées Francophones de Radiologie (JFR), according to Professor Isabelle Thomassin-Naggara, president of this year's JFR, speaking to AuntMinnieEurope ahead of the congress.
“The patient's pathway, in French 'La voie du patient', is a neat play on words with the patient's 'voice' – 'la voix du patient'. The two concepts are linked and form the central theme of this year's JFR,” noted Thomassin-Naggara.
To this end, 16 patient associations have been invited to take an active part in the congress, which will be held 8-11 October in Paris. In addition to participating in dedicated sessions demonstrating the role of the radiologist in the patient’s care pathway, they have recorded podcasts explaining how their interaction with radiology makes a difference to them.
Prof. Isabelle Thomassin-NaggaraProf. Isabelle Thomassin-Naggara
The podcasts follow the eight steps of patient-radiologist interaction: receiving an invitation to organized screening and meeting the radiologist; the barriers and fears before and during the procedure; support from the medical team before and during an examination; information about examinations and interventional radiology procedures; the announcement of results and receipt of the report; what comes next — radiological follow-up; how to talk about it with family and friends; and the relationship with AI.
Each association will have its own stand along a dedicated “patients’ route” at the congress, and at each stand there will be a poster of the patient alongside a QR code linking to the podcast, so that visitors can listen to the patient speaking.
Besides its usual remit of presentations, each subspecialty is also providing three sessions to help the general population understand radiology's role in patient management and care.
The first will include a comparison of conventional surgery versus interventional radiology, and will involve a clinician, a radiologist and a patient who will give their own perspective on this comparison in a dedicated lecture.
The second type of session will recreate a multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting to demonstrate how the radiologist plays a crucial role in tailoring treatment to the individual patient. While, in the third, the goal is to show how the radiologist of tomorrow will be pivotal in personalized diagnosis and screening, and how they can explain to patients the importance of AI in risk assessment, particularly in breast and chest screening.
These three sessions aim to show how the different roles of the radiologist go beyond interpreting images, meaning that AI will not replace the human radiologist, noted Thomassin-Naggara, who is head of imaging at Tenon hospital, and professor of radiology at AP-HP Sorbonne University Hospital, Paris.
Putting the focus on patients at JFR continues a drive that the national society bolstered earlier this year through the development of the SFR chatbot,“Irene,” which aims to answer patient questions, obviating unscientific answers from Google. The chatbot is gaining ground but must be further promoted among patients, according to Thomassin-Naggara, who is proud to be at the helm of a patient-focused meeting.
“As communication matters not only with patients but also between radiologists, I also created 'JFR by night', a social event where radiologists can have fun but also communicate with each other. With the change in the usual dates, the last night is a Saturday so I thought an event on the Champs-Élysées would be a great way to get radiologists together and also showcase Paris to our international speakers,” she noted.
This year and next are proving fruitful for Thomassin-Naggara. She also now leads the DRIM France IA scientific committee, which continues to build a platform for testing AI on real French data and to support the implementation of AI as a triage tool in the French breast screening program. A dedicated session on Saturday morning will present latest developments.
“Many AI vendors have agreed to take part in this major project, which is essential to maintaining strong quality assurance and independence in our national prevention program,” she noted.
When not busy taking and interpreting clinical images, she is creating artistic ones. As a keen photographer and printer, Thomassin-Naggara's interests lie in capturing nature and people, as demonstrated in the photograph below.
Photo illustrating eco-responsibility, a theme that the SFR continues to champion at the JFR. The photograph shows a paper flower made by a patient (www.poeticmood.fr) who will be running craft workshops at the Patient Associations’ Village during JFR 2026. Participants will be invited to create their own JFR 2026 flower and take it home.Prof. Isabelle Thomassin-Naggara
