Report of Outreach from Kwasi Ofori Armah, MD, MBA, MPH, FACR

It was a real honor to be selected as the Anne G. Osborn Outreach Professor 2019 for Ghana by the ICC/ASNR, an opportunity that was even more special being of Ghanaian heritage.

The ASNR professorship has traditionally been hosted by the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) in Accra, the capital. However, to increase the reach and impact of the program for the 2019 calendar year, I spent time at KBTH; at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Kumasi, and at Eastern Regional Hospital (ERH), Koforidua.

Since KBTH has always been the beneficiary of this program, the bulk of my time was spent there.

My daily activities consisted of two lectures in the morning, beginning at 7:30 am local time with an audience of radiology residents, radiology attendings, and neurosurgeons with some of the radiology residents coming from programs outside of KBTH such as the Military Hospital. Following the morning lectures, I participated in the review of various neuro cases at the clinical workstations for the better part of the day, punctuated by daily case reviews between 1-2 pm. Unlike Drs Avery and Soares, who had gone before me in the program, the Greek goddess of good fortune (Euthycia) was with me, and both CT and MRI scans at KBTH were operational. With the scans working I was able to see live/current cases of which most of were either advance, exceedingly complex, or both. Cases ranged from trauma to tumors, but also there were numerous cases of complications of hypertension and cerebrovascular venous thrombosis.

Though Ghana has gradually grown the number of radiologists over the years, totaling about 60 in a recent count, most are generalists needing subspecialty help with almost anything, especially neurologic imaging. I am thus comforted and proud of being a part of this program, which is seeking to lighten at least this daunting burden; hopefully, this remains a long-term commitment on the part of the ICC/ASNR Foundation.

I thank Dr. Policeno and the good folks on the ICC for availing me of this opportunity. I owe Drs Osborn and Kucharczyk a great debt of gratitude for their pioneering work and continued support in ensuring the success of this program. I would be remiss if I did not thank our Ghanaian partners without whom none of this would be possible-Drs Mensah (KBTH), Hafi (KBTH), Dzefi-Tetteh (KBTH), Idun (Military Hospital), and Badu-Peprah (KATH). Finally, I want to thank the Royal Abrade and Bekai families for hosting me.

Kwasi Ofori Armah, MD, MBA, MPH, FACR
Penn State Health
Hershey Pennsylvania