The American College of Radiology white paper on radiation dose in medicine: deep impact on the practice of cardiovascular imaging

Public Deposited
Analytics

Downloadable Content

Download PDF
Request Version for Screen Reader
Creator
  • Picano, Eugenio
    • Other Affiliation: CNR, Institute of Clinical Physiology, Pisa, Italy
  • Vano, Eliseo
    • Other Affiliation: Complutense University, San Carlos University Hospital, Madrid, Spain
  • Semelka, Richard
    • Affiliation: School of Medicine, Department of Radiology
  • Regulla, Dieter
    • Other Affiliation: GSF-National Research Center for Environment and Health, Institute for Radiation Protection, Neuherberg, Germany
Abstract
  • Abstract In April 2007, the American College of Radiology released the "White Paper on Radiation Dose in Medicine". The Blue Ribbon panel members included private practice and academic diagnostic radiologists, medical physicists, representatives of industry and regulatory groups, and a patient advocate. The panel concluded that the expanding use of imaging modalities using ionizing radiations such as CT and nuclear medicine may result in an increased incidence of radiation-related cancer in the exposed population in the not-too-distant future, and this problem can likely be minimized by preventing the inappropriate use of such imaging and by optimizing studies that are performed to obtain the best image quality with the lowest radiation dose. The White Paper set forth practical suggestions to minimize radiation risk, including education for all stakeholders in the principles of radiation safety and preferential use of alternative (non-ionizing) imaging techniques, such as MRI and ultrasound. These recommendations are especially relevant for cardiologists, who prescribe and/or practice medical imaging examinations accounting for at least 50% of the total effective dose by radiation medicine, which amounts to an equivalent of about 160 chest x-rays per head per year in US. Were they be enacted, these simple recommendations would determine a revolution in the contemporary way of teaching, learning and practising cardiology.
Date of publication
DOI
Identifier
Resource type
  • Article
Rights statement
  • In Copyright
Rights holder
  • Eugenio Picano et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
License
Journal title
  • Cardiovascular Ultrasound
Journal volume
  • 5
Journal issue
  • 1
Page start
  • 37
Language
  • English
Is the article or chapter peer-reviewed?
  • Yes
ISSN
  • 1476-7120
Bibliographic citation
  • Cardiovascular Ultrasound. 2007 Oct 31;5(1):37
Publisher
  • BioMed Central Ltd
Access right
  • Open Access
Date uploaded
  • August 24, 2012

Relations

Parents:

This work has no parents.

Items

Thumbnail Title Date Uploaded Visibility Actions
file details 1476-7120-5-37.pdf 2019-05-06 Public Download
file details 1476-7120-5-37.xml 2019-05-06 Public Download