The American College of Radiology (ACR) of Reston, VA, has issued a new white paper on the appropriate use of medical imaging in an effort to counter the documented rise in radiation being delivered by medical devices.
Produced by the ACR Blue Ribbon Panel on Radiation Dose in Medicine, the 13-page report examines the rise in the number of radiation-based imaging examinations in recent decades, and quotes research on the connection between radiation dose and cancer. The report is being published in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
The white paper notes that research on survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan show a statistically significant rise in cancer at dose estimates in excess of 50 mSv. Many CT and nuclear medicine procedures have effective dose estimates in the range of 10-25 mSv for a single study, and some patients have multiple studies, thus putting them in excess of levels found to result in an increased risk of cancer.
In addition, a 2004 study suggests that medical exposure might be responsible for 1% of the cancer in the U.S. Indeed, the U.S. could experience a rise in the incidence of imaging-related cancer in the "not-too-distant future" if risk estimates proposed by bodies like the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) are proved correct, the white paper notes.
The paper makes a number of recommendations, such as the development of a national database for radiation dose indices that would enable researchers to more accurately estimate how much radiation dose is being delivered to patients. The development of such a database is more feasible thanks to the rise of digital imaging modalities, from which the data could be extracted, the paper says.
The report also calls for:
- The development of a standard methodology of introducing medical students to radiation exposure in medical imaging
- The addition of relative radiation dose levels to the ACR's Appropriateness Criteria
- The convening of a summit meeting between the ACR and leaders of emergency medicine to discuss the development of guidelines for imaging conditions for which CT may be overutilized
- Increased outreach between the ACR and other medical societies for raising awareness of radiation exposure during medical imaging
The report is available on the ACR's Web site, and can be reached by clicking here.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
April 19, 2007
Related Reading
Report: U.S. exposure to medical radiation skyrockets, April 19, 2007
Strategies for reducing 'dose creep' in digital x-ray, April 11, 2007
ACC study: Dual-source cardiac CT delivers acceptable radiation dose, March 28, 2007
Radiation dose slashed in 64-slice coronary CTA, February 15, 2007
CT overranging an important but hidden radiation source, February 1, 2007
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