X-ray dose gets renewed attention with new standards

Dear AuntMinnie Member,

Perhaps no issue in medical imaging is as important and as misunderstood as radiation dose. We all know that too much is a bad thing, but how much is too much?

One problem is that the radiation dose delivered to patients is rarely measured outside of the research setting. Another is that the radiology community has yet to agree on a common reference standard for acceptable dose levels.

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine is hoping to provide some guidance on the latter issue by publishing guidelines that set reference values for radiation dose for a variety of different imaging exams. We're featuring an article on the new guidelines, by staff writer Tracie L. Thompson, in our X-Ray Digital Community.

The reference values are based on levels already achieved by about three-fourths of U.S. imaging facilities. AAPM representatives believe that if the rest of the country's imaging sites adopted the guidelines, we could see a measurable reduction in patient radiation exposure. But those facilities are often smaller sites that have little oversight or incentive to reduce dose.

Get the rest of the details by clicking here, or go to our X-Ray Digital Community for this story and others related to radiography.