Radiation from Medical Imaging

Medical imaging has become a major source of ionizing radiation exposure to patients and medical staff. This ionizing radiation, impacting the health of human tissues, is significant in dose-intensive medical imaging procedures such as CT, nuclear medicine (SPECT/PET) and fluoroscopy. In the U.S. alone, the radiation exposure from medical procedures in the last few decades has increased more than seven-fold1.

Due to the risk of ionizing radiation, the medical research community, governmental regulators, healthcare labor organizations and the general media are openly discussing their growing concerns of radiation exposure. In addition to a hearing held by the U.S. Congress, both the National Council for Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have called for new methods to reduce medical radiation exposure to patients and medical staff. Among medical imaging procedures, fluoroscopy has the potential to create the highest radiation exposure (see table below).

IKOMED Technologies Inc. has the solution to reduce radiation from fluoroscopic medical imaging procedures.

Type of Procedure

Average Adult Effective Dose

(mSv)

Estimated Dose Equivalent

(No. of Chest X-rays)

Dental X-ray 0.005-0.01 0.25-0.5
Chest X-ray 0.02 1
Mammography 0.4 20
CT 2-16 100-800
Nuclear medicine 0.2-41 10-2050
Interventional fluoroscopy 5-70 250-3500
Radiation doses from various types of medical imaging procedures2

 


1 National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, report No. 160 (2009)
2 Food and Drug Administration, Initiative to Reduce Unnecessary Radiation Exposure from Medical Imaging (2010)