Access to quality healthcare is still out of reach for millions worldwide — particularly in low- and middle-income countries and underserved rural areas. One of the biggest drivers of this gap is a shortage of trained healthcare workers, a challenge made worse by workforce migration, limited local training opportunities, and uneven distribution of resources.

In this episode of Healthcare Perspectives, host Hagen Weissapfel, Director of Education and Customer Services for Global Access to Care at Siemens Healthineers, is joined by Melissa Culp, Executive Vice President of Member Engagement at the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT), and Dr. Geoff Ibbotson, surgeon and Executive Director of the Global Surgery Foundation (GSF). Together, they explore how education and training — scaled through digital innovation and local partnerships — can transform access to care for underserved communities.

From stories of practicing in isolation in remote Nepal, to advancing imaging education in Malawi, to building global learning platforms like SURGHub, Melissa and Geoff share how sustainable, in-country solutions can empower healthcare professionals, break down systemic barriers, and save lives.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why education is one of the most sustainable forms of impact in global health
• How digital learning platforms like SURGHub are connecting providers in over 200 countries
• The role of local leadership and trust in building effective training programs
• How public awareness campaigns can inspire the next generation of medical imaging professionals
• The life-or-death consequences of gaps in surgical technology access — and how training can close them
• Why small, targeted investments can yield measurable improvements in health outcomes

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Connect with Geoff Ibbotson

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Is it possible for artificial intelligence to make healthcare more environmentally sustainable?

In the field of radiology, AI may prove to be transformative. It has the potential to streamline processes, cut costs, and increase accuracy in imaging, diagnostics, and prevention.

When we talk about sustainability, we often think of carbon emissions or climate change. But environmental sustainability means something much broader in healthcare: it’s about how we can preserve resources, whether cost, energy, human capital, and reduce waste and pollution, all while improving health outcomes for everyone, everywhere.

Today, host Vibhas Deshpande, Head of Sustainability Innovation and Research, Americas at Siemens Healthineers, welcomes Dr. Kate Hanneman, cardiac radiologist at the University of Toronto; Dr. Charles Goh, Chief Medical Informatics Officer at Singapore General Hospital; and Tobias Heimann, head of the Department of Artificial Intelligence Germany at Siemens Healthineers, to explore how the rise of artificial intelligence is reshaping the conversation around sustainability in healthcare.

Together, they’re helping define what “responsible AI” really means—and what steps healthcare leaders can take now to ensure that AI benefits patients, clinicians and health systems and preserves global resources.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why eliminating data redundancy and using foundational models are keys to keeping AI development sustainable
• AI is used to shorten imaging exams while still maintaining a high image quality, which contributes to energy savings
• AI can help to arrive at correct diagnosis by improving clinical decision making and alignment to best practice to minimize waste in health systems
• Sustainability is more than a metric of emissions or kilowatts—it’s also about how we invest intellectual and clinical capital, such as freeing clinicians to do what humans can do best: connect, interpret, and care.

Connect with Vibhas Deshpande

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Connect with Tobias Heimann

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Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), also known as fatty liver disease, is a chronic liver condition that affects nearly 1 in 3 people worldwide. It is closely linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Unchecked, it can progress to a more severe form of disease called Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis (MASH).

Prognosticating the risk of disease progression in MASLD and MASH has traditionally involved liver biopsy, a process that involves removing a tissue sample with a hollow needle and then examining the sample under a microscope to diagnose and stage disease. However, biopsy has many limitations. Additionally, drug development for MASLD and MASH has proceeded slowly in part due to a reliance on liver biopsy to determine drug efficacy.

Recently, increasing evidence is suggesting that non-invasive options, for example, imaging examinations along with blood tests that assess likelihood of disease progression such as the Enhanced Liver Fibrosis (ELF) Test, may effectively reduce the need for the more invasive alternative. Key experts in MASLD and MASH share their perspectives about how clinical evidence supports a shift in the way patients with MASLD and MASH could be evaluated in clinical practice and in research.

Host Matt Gee, Director of Collaborations and External Engagement at Siemens Healthineers, is joined by Prof. William Rosenberg, Deputy Director of the Institute for Liver and Digestive Health at University College London as well as Dr. Veronica Miller, Director of the Forum for Collaborative Research at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health; Dr. Arun Sanyal, Professor of Medicine, Physiology, and Molecular Pathology in the Division of Gastroenterology at Virginia Commonwealth University; and Dr. Michelle Long, International Medical Vice President of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis at Novo Nordisk and Associate Professor in the Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Boston University.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Liver biopsy creates several obstacles for patients and has limitations
• Drug development faces challenges by the reliance on biopsy as a measure of treatment effectiveness
• Non-invasive tools may be suitable alternatives to liver biopsy both in clinical practice and in drug development

Connect with Matt Gee

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Connect with Veronica Miller

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Connect with William Rosenberg

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Connect with Michelle Long

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Connect with Arun Sanyal

• VCU.edu

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