ERS International Congress 2023: highlights from the Clinical Techniques, Imaging and Endoscopy Assembly.

The Clinical Techniques, Imaging and Endoscopy Assembly is involved in the diagnosis and treatment of several pulmonary diseases, as demonstrated at the 2023 European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress in Milan, Italy. From interventional pulmonology, the congress included several exciting results for the use of bronchoscopy in lung cancer, including augmented fluoroscopy, robotic-assisted bronchoscopy and cryobiopsies. In obstructive lung disease, the latest results on bronchoscopic treatment of emphysema with hyperinflation and chronic bronchitis were presented. Research on using cryobiopsies to diagnose interstitial lung disease was further explored, with the aims of elevating diagnostic yield and minimising risk. For imaging, the latest updates in using artificial intelligence to overcome the increased workload of radiologists were of great interest. Novel imaging in sarcoidosis explored the use of magnetic resonance imaging, photon-counting computed tomography and positron emission tomography/computed tomography in the diagnostic work-up. Lung cancer screening is still a hot topic and new results were presented regarding incorporation of biomarkers, identifying knowledge gaps and improving screening programmes. The use of ultrasound in respiratory medicine is an expanding field, which was demonstrated by the large variety in studies presented at the 2023 ERS Congress. Ultrasound of the diaphragm in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and myasthenia gravis was used to assess movements and predict respiratory fatigue. Furthermore, studies using ultrasound to diagnose or monitor pulmonary disease were presented. The congress also included studies regarding the training and assessment of competencies as an important part of implementing ultrasound in clinical practice.

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Conflict of interest: A. Moretti was the winner of a research fellowship grant from SIP (Italian Respiratory Society), outside the submitted work; and reports support for attending meetings from Amsterdam UMC, outside the submitted work. P.I. Pietersen reports a grant from Boehringer Ingelheim for travel and accommodation for the European Society of Thoracic Imaging Winter Course 2022, outside the submitted work. H. Prosch reports research grants or contracts from Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, Siemens Healthineers, the Christian Doppler Research Association and the EU Commission (EU4Health, Horizon Europe Health), outside the submitted work; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers’ bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from AstraZeneca, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bracco, Daiichi Sankyo, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Roche, Sanofi, Siemens Healthineers and Takeda, outside the submitted work; support for attending meetings and/or travel from Boehringer Ingelheim, outside the submitted work; and participation on a data safety monitoring or advisory board for BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen, MSD, Roche and Sanofi, outside the submitted work. H. Shafiek reports a grant for a research fellowship from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Egypt to work in Spain for 6 months (April 2021 to October 2021), outside the submitted work; support from the ERS to attend the International Congress in Milan in 2023, outside the submitted work; and was leader of the bronchoscopy unit of Alexandria Faculty of Medicine, Egypt between October 2022 and September 2023, and is leader of the bronchoscopy unit of Smouha University Hospital, Alexandria, Egypt, from April 2023 to present, outside the submitted work. A.D. Tarnoki reports payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers’ bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Boehringer Ingelheim, outside the submitted work; and is ERS Imaging Group chair 2022–2024. J.T. Annema reports support for the present manuscript from Mauna Kea Technologies and a grant from Mauna Kea Technologies, outside the submitted work. M. Munavvar reports honorarium for teaching from Olympus Europe, Becton Dickinson and Chiesi, outside the submitted work; and sponsorship for travel from Chiesi, outside the submitted work. P.I. Bonta reports institutional research grants from AstraZeneca, Mauna Kea and Boston Scientific, outside the submitted work. A.D. Juul reports research funding from Danish Cancer Society and Danish Center for Lung Cancer Research, outside the submitted work. All other authors have nothing to disclose.