Tracking Radiation Exposure from Medical Diagnostic Procedures Workshop Report (2012) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
2 Background
2 Background
Pages 5-16
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 5... ...
Advances in medical imaging in the past few decades using procedures such as computed tomography (CT) , fluoroscopy, and nuclear medicine imaging exams have dramatically improved health care.
|
From page 6... ...
1 titled Ionizing Radiation Exposure of the Population of the United States indicated that in 2006 Americans were exposed to more than six times as much ionizing radiation from medical diagnostic procedures than in 1980 (NCRP, 2009)
|
From page 7... ...
Assuming a linear relationship between dose and cancer risk at low doses, a potential small increase in the chance of developing cancer is the main health effect of concern associated with the use of medical diagnostic procedures. The level of risk depends on the type of imaging procedure.
|
From page 8... ...
. Because large numbers of individuals receive radiation doses from medical imaging, whether for screening or diagnostic purposes, the possibility exists that even small potential risks per individual attributed to these exams could translate into many cases of cancer.
|
From page 9... ...
Typically population risk estimates are derived from the atomic-bombing survivors cohort in Hiroshima and Nagasaki; today, this cohort is widely considered the "gold standard" in the assessment of radiation-induced cancer risks at low doses.9 Medically exposed cohorts are also used to provide risk estimates for risk projection studies. The risks determined from projection models represent theoretical risks rather than empirical observed risks and rely upon the assumption of a linear relationship between radiation dose and risk at low doses.
|
From page 10... ...
Moreover, the magnitude of cumulative individual doses from single or multiple procedures has not been fully characterized because of limited medical recording and the lack of sharing of medical information across different health care facilities. 2.3 APPROPRIATENESS OF DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING The appropriateness of diagnostic imaging in terms of justification and optimization were discussed by Dr.
|
From page 11... ...
. 2.4 REDUCTION IN RADIATION DOSES Reducing the dose per exam is the second way to reduce unnecessary exposure to radiation from medical diagnostic procedures, and this is discussed in the context of optimization10 and the need to create reference values based on best practices (ICRP, 2008)
|
From page 12... ...
For example, on the technical side, although new CT and fluoroscopic devices include displays of dose metrics, some lack other safeguards, such as default parameter settings that optimize radiation dose or alerts when the radiation dose in a given exam exceeds a particular reference level or range. Even when these safeguards are in place, users may not have received adequate training in the proper use of these features and the importance of optimizing radiation dose.
|
From page 13... ...
and are not recorded in the patient's medical record. In addition, many medical imaging devices that communicate with radiology information systems do not forward data on radiation dose despite recommendations to the contrary from the ACR (Amis et al., 2007)
|
From page 14... ...
2.5.4 IAEA Smart Card In 2006 the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) initiated an ambitious program named Smart Card with the purpose of tracking the radiological procedures of individual patients and radiation dose.
|
From page 15... ...
. The goal of this policy within the NIH Clinical Center is to achieve an accurate assessment of whether low-dose radiation exposure from medical imaging exams increases the patient's risk of developing cancer.
|
From page 16... ...
(The law does not set a limit as to what the dose indices should be.) For the purposes of this bill, the radiation dose that should be recorded is defined as any metrics such as CTDIvol and DLP or a dose unit as recommended by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM)
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.