5 Trends in Radiation Dose Management
Early-stage detection is key to the prevention of life-threatening diseases; however, limited access to data hinders the ability of radiology healthcare professionals to identify excess exposure to radiation in patients, which could result in both short- and long-term health effects. Understanding the effects of radiation on patients’ health and implementing effective radiation dose management through the adoption of innovative technologies can improve imaging practices and To sum it all up patient safety.
Trend 1: Awareness and Education
The guidelines and recommendations for radiation dose are constantly evolving, keeping consistent with the ALARA principle, the guiding principle for radiation safety. ALARA is at the core of radiation dose management, emphasizing the importance of minimizing radiation exposure to patients and healthcare professionals while maintaining image quality. Radiologists are increasingly adopting techniques and technologies to ensure that radiation doses are kept as low as possible while still obtaining the necessary diagnostic information. These guidelines were outlined jointly by numerous medical societies.
Trend 2: Dose Monitoring and Reporting
In fact, some medical physicists and radiology experts have called for wider use of radiation dose monitoring software, because hospitals and imaging centers need to establish a baseline for its use of dose before they can measure the impact of any dose lowering efforts, changes in protocols, use of newer imaging equipment or use of dose lowering techniques. Some hospitals adopted dose recording software to improve their imaging protocols to improve safety for their patients and staff, however new recording requirements by The Joint Commission and some states helped push many other facilities to adopt the technology.
Trend 3: Image Optimization Techniques
Advancements…
