Dear Pediatric Imaging Insider,
February is a month associated with hearts: heart health awareness and heart symbols associated with Valentine's Day! For many members of the Pediatric Imaging Digital Community, February is also associated with the launch of Image Gently, a now global campaign to reduce radiation dose exposure to children.
Three cheers to the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging, which three years ago launched this campaign that is having such a huge effect on maintaining the health of children. The impact of the Image Gently campaign is being seen everywhere: in technological innovations in modalities and image processing software that dramatically reduce radiation dose, and in innovations by radiologists and medical physicists to change imaging protocols and to rule out unnecessary exams.
In one recent example, a group from Children's Hospital Boston has found that CT scans may be unnecessary in children with bleeding disorders who present with head trauma. Also from Boston is the recommendation to use a scoring system to determine whether children with symptoms of appendicitis require a CT scan -- click here to read more.
Fighting dose creep that happens over time when performing computed radiography and digital radiography exams seems to be a universal battle of this digital age. Learn how an Indiana children's hospital has implemented an easy-to-use quality assurance technique to monitor radiation dose levels.
Too many imaging procedures are still being performed, however. International editor Eric Barnes reports on a study of the number and type of imaging exams performed on more than 350,000 children. Get the details here.
Unfortunately, diagnostic imaging procedures, often CT scans, are needed for injured children who are suspected of being victims of child abuse. This newsletter's Insider Exclusive describes updated ACR Appropriateness Criteria from an expert panel representing 12 children's hospitals and six professional associations. We highlight this topic with the hope that you will widely disseminate the article to your colleagues in emergency departments and to pediatric specialists.
And be sure to watch for AuntMinnie.com's annual update on the Image Gently campaign. It's coming soon.
