It is a pleasure to be here in Malmö for the 40th Annual meeting of the European Society of Neuroradiology, the ESNR.

This year’s meeting has gathered almost 700 delegates and faculty from 60 countries worldwide. The program holds the highest scientific standard, with several distinguished speakers from all over the world.

This is the first time in 25 years that the ESNR holds its Annual Meeting in Sweden. The last time was in Stockholm in 1992.

Two and a half decades has passed since then. Much progress has been made – not least in the field of diagnosing and treating patients with different neurodegenerative disorders such as dementia, a topic that is especially close to my heart.

About 25 years ago, my mother was diagnosed with dementia. It was a painful experience; for her, but also for us, her family. Eventually, though, that very difficult time led to something positive: In 1996 I established the Foundation Silviahemmet; a non-profit foundation devoted to improving the quality of life for persons affected by dementia and their families.

An integral part of the Foundation's work is to closely follow scientific developments, such as the findings that will be discussed here in the coming days.

The program covers many important areas and topics.

There is, for example, one very interesting lecture in the Sunday session, Trauma to brain and spine, that addresses the issue of brain damage among children in Thai Boxing.

I think we can all agree that no child should be exposed to the risk of incurring brain injury. But if we want to put a stop to potentially harmful practices, we need facts to guide us to the right decisions.

Whether we are advocating children’s right to a safe and healthy childhood, or the right to the best possible care for those suffering from dementia, science plays an utterly important role. The more knowledge we have, the more we can do to help the most vulnerable individuals in our society.

Therefore, I would like to thank you all for coming here today, to share your knowledge.

With this short introduction I hereby declare (the 24th Advanced Diagnostic course in “Neurodegenerative Disease” and the 9th Advanced Interventional Course in “Update in Stroke imaging” and) the 40th ESNR Annual Meeting, open.

I wish you all great success with this conference.

Thank you.