Radiologists can serve their patients by championing the life saving benefits of lung cancer screening with low radiation with low radiation dose CT, particularly to the newly eligible population.
Image Wisely, a joint initiative of ACR, RSNA, ASRT and AAPM,
provides information to the medical community to promote safety in medical imaging.
Computed Tomography
The 2009 National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, Report No. 160 — Ionizing Radiation Exposure of the Population of the United States — showed that medical exposure to patients is one of the largest sources of radiation exposure to Americans, nearly equaling the exposure from background sources. Computed tomography is the largest source of medical radiation exposure.
The benefits of computed tomography are immense and certainly exceed the risks. However, this is only true when they are ordered appropriately and studies are optimized to obtain the best image quality with the lowest radiation dose. And be sure to take the pledge to Image Wisely!
Developing CT protocols to maximize diagnostic yield while minimizing dose
The study establishes patient-size based diagnostic reference levels and achievable doses for the 10 most common CT head, neck and body examinations.
Using ASIR to substantially reduce image noise with no impact on spatial or contrast resolution
Important differences when performing CT imaging of children related to CT dose and potential stochastic risks
Achieving accredited status for CT shows an ongoing commitment to the quality and safety of your CT exams.
Use of clinical imaging guidelines as an approach to addressing concerns about imaging overuse, inappropriate use, and radiation exposure
Discusses a variety of body MRI applications as an effective alternative to using CT
Scenarios for using ultrasound instead of CT in non-pregnant patients
Dose calculation and risk and strategies for dose reduction in pregnant CT patients
An overview of the risks associated with medical imaging examinations that involve ionizing radiation
Resources for CT protocol design and optimization, dose-reducing techniques, and pros and cons of in-plane patient shielding
Reconstructions that improve image quality can be translated into a reduction of radiation dose.
Discussion of using diagnostic reference levels to reduce the overall dose and the range of doses observed in clinical practice
Additional Resources
