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Melissa Culp, a clinical assistant professor in the Division of Radiologic Science, is consulting on World Health Organization country support goals during the COVID-19 pandemic through her work as chief operating officer at RAD-AID International.

RAD-AID is a nonprofit that brings radiology to low-resource areas by delivering education, promoting local procurement of equipment, strengthening local economies, and supporting human capacity development.

Melissa Culp
Melissa Culp

“Radiology services are not accessible everywhere to the same extent,” Culp explained. “RAD-AID seeks to promote health equity and to increase access to medical imaging globally.”

RAD-AID, which is designated as a non-state actor in official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO), has a mission that promotes the WHO’s global health targets.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, RAD-AID is assisting with the WHO country support goals of promoting the appropriate use of radiology in COVID-19 clinical management, of providing guidance on safe management of patients—including infection control and prevention, and of sharing guidance on radiological equipment procurement and best practice donation processes.

Culp noted that COVID-19 should be diagnosed with a clinical laboratory test. Medical imaging is not recommended to screen for the disease.

Culp said radiology is part of the clinical management for patients with many health conditions so it is important to ensure that correct and accurate information is shared globally.