About us

We are a non-profit research organisation founded by the European Society of Radiology in 2006.

For the last 20 years, we’ve helped shape the landscape of European biomedical imaging research by supporting scientists and helping them secure funding for their projects

The European Institute for Biomedical Imaging Research (EIBIR) is dedicated to the coordination of research projects and aims to support the development of biomedical imaging technologies and the dissemination of knowledge.

We want to improve cooperation within the European biomedical imaging community, with the goal of improving the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases. We actively support research networking activities and common initiatives and interoperability in the field of biomedical imaging research.

EIBIR was established on the initiative of The European Society of Radiology (ESR) in 2006 and funded by the European Commission within Framework Programme 6.

Our mission is to coordinate the development of biomedical imaging technologies in Europe and to support the dissemination of knowledge with the ultimate goal of improving diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease.

We are proud to support more than 140 partners from 30 countries in their research

We help researchers navigate the rules and regulations of large EU-funded projects, so you can carry out innovative research.

European researchers are increasingly looking to EU funding sources to supplement or replace shrinking national research budgets. The multidisciplinary and multinational research consortia of these EU-funded research projects often require professional project management – it ensures the successful accomplishment of the project’s goals. By providing proposal preparation, project management and dissemination & communication services to researchers, we substantially increase your changes to acquire EU funding and aim to enhance biomedical imaging research, in Europe and beyond.

The majority of our efforts concern project management services for ongoing collaborative research projects, coordination of multi-centre clinical trials, and support during the preparation of project proposals under the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 framework. Our current research focus lies in radiology, molecular imaging and imaging biomarkers. The main target audiences include physicians, physicists, radiographers, chemists, mathematicians, molecular biologists, computer scientists.

Combining the expertise of our scientific advisory board, advice from our multi-disciplinary shareholder groups, input from ESR’s Research Committee and recommendations from the industry panel, EIBIR benefits from the guidance and support of a multi-faceted organisational structure that ensures EIBIR and biomedical imaging are at the forefront of research activities in Europe.

The Scientific Advisory Board sets and guides the organisation’s long-term strategies and goals for biomedical imaging research. It also provides invaluable expert advice and feedback to researchers on their proposals.

Prof. Regina Beets-Tan is EIBIR’s Scientific Director and leads the Scientific Advisory Board.

View our Scientific Advisory Board

Our experienced team is highly motivated and knowledgeable in the preparation of proposals and the management and coordination of projects.

The EIBIR team
EIBIR’s shareholder organisations exemplify the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in biomedical imaging research. Their support is vital to EIBIR’s decision making. The shareholders are represented at the General Meeting, where major strategic decisions are taken and recommendations are developed for EIBIR’s other bodies and initiatives. Each shareholder organisation is also invited to nominate a representative to stand on EIBIR’s Scientific Advisory Board.

EIBIR gratefully acknowledges the support of its Industry Partners. Each partner can nominate one representative to sit on the EIBIR Industry Panel. The Industry Panel allows EIBIR and its member industry organisations to identify shared interests and opportunities for collaboration.

View our shareholders

EIBIR is committed to promoting gender equality within our organisation. To accomplish this goal and to ensure the implementation of effective measures, we have drawn up a Gender Equality Plan.

Our Gender Equality Plan
2000
In 2000, the idea of creating a body that would work to improve European image-related research activities emerged within the former European Association of Radiology (EAR) which was later integrated into the European Society for Radiology (ESR).
2002
In 2002, the EAR created a committee to supervise imaging research activities in Europe, and to offer advice on how to establish a body tasked with improving and coordinating biomedical imaging research in Europe.
2004
At the European Congress of Radiology in 2004, the committee presented an overview of the existing European research infrastructure. The committee recommended determining partners in order to properly establish a pan-European research institute, analogous to the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering in the United States. Based on these recommendations, a second committee was created with the aim to build a network of research centers of excellence in biomedical imaging and creating possibilities for the education and strengthening of biomedical imaging research and training throughout Europe.
2005
An action plan entitled “Towards a European Institute for Biomedical Imaging Research” was developed by the second committee in 2005 and submitted within the 6th Framework Programme to the European Commission.
2006
In 2006, the action plan was approved and led to the official establishment of EIBIR as a non-profit limited liability company with its registered office in Vienna, Austria. EIBIR received financial support from a core group of industry partners in order to facilitate the establishment of its operational structures and to initiate projects at a research level. Bayer Schering Pharma, Bracco, GE Healthcare, Philips and Siemens Healthcare were the founding members of the EIBIR Industry Panel.
2008
From 2008 onward, EIBIR took over the coordination of several collaborative research projects supported within the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme and collaborated in additional projects.
2009
By 2009, EIBIR’s network and activities had grown to a point where there was a need for a strategic plan to ensure efficiency, viability and a focused use of its resources; Service packages were introduced for network members, industry partners and shareholder organisations in order to allow EIBIR to maintain and improve its services.
2016
In 2016, EIBIR celebrated its 10th anniversary. In its first decade, EIBIR had supported more than 100 partners from over 25 countries in executing their research projects. In total, more than €70,000,000 in research funding had been secured for projects in the field of biomedical imaging.
2018
In 2018, EIBIR published a Strategic Research Agenda for Biomedical Imaging. It presents current challenges in healthcare and highlights how innovative biomedical imaging can help address them. The strategic research agenda aims to encourage research funding mechanisms to include biomedical imaging. It was developed in collaboration with our shareholders representing scientific societies related to biomedical imaging, as well as EIBIR’s Scientific Advisory Board.
2020
The year 2020 will mark the start of the European Commission’s next framework programme for research funding, Horizon Europe. EIBIR is looking forward to Horizon Europe for new and exciting opportunities for biomedical imaging research, and ways to support its Network.