Thirteen radiology-related organizations are urging healthcare practitioners to significantly reduce the amount of radiation administered to children during imaging scans.
The Image Gently Alliance advocates scanning children only when necessary, scanning only the indicated region, and scanning only once, adding that multiphase procedures, such as pre- and postcontrast and delayed exams, are rarely helpful.
The initiative also is encouraging providers to include medical physicists to monitor pediatric CT techniques, and technologists to optimize scanning protocols.
There were approximately 4 million pediatric CT scans performed in 2006, triple the number over the previous five years.
The campaign is led by the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging. Founding members are the Society for Pediatric Radiology (SPR), the American College of Radiology (ACR), the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT), and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM).
Related Reading
ACR responds to NEJM article on CT radiation risks, November 29, 2007
Radiation exposure of pregnant women doubles in 10 years, November 28, 2007
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![Images show the pectoralis muscles of a healthy male individual who never smoked (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; body mass index [BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared], 28.4; number of cigarette pack-years, 0; forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1], 97.6% predicted; FEV1: forced vital capacity [FVC] ratio, 0.71; pectoralis muscle area [PMA], 59.4 cm2; pectoralis muscle volume [PMV], 764 cm3) and a male individual with a smoking history and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; BMI, 27.5; number of cigarette pack-years, 43.2, FEV1, 48% predicted; FEV1:FVC, 0.56; PMA, 35 cm2; PMV, 480.8 cm3) from the Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease (i.e., CanCOLD) study. The CT image is shown in the axial plane. The PMV is automatically extracted using the developed deep learning model and overlayed onto the lungs for visual clarity.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/03/genkin.25LqljVF0y.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=focalpoint&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
