Implementation of a multi country CT Dose Management system

Congress:

EuroSafe Imaging 2016

Poster Number:

ESI-0015

Type:

EuroSafe Imaging

Keywords:

Action 12 - Cooperation with international radiation protection initiatives and other stakeholders including IAEA, WHO, ICRP, HERCA, European Commission, Action 10 - Improved communication and collaboration of health professionals in radiation protection, Action 3 - Optimisation, diagnostic reference levels, image quality, Action 2 - Clinical diagnostic reference levels (DRLs), Action 13 - Stakeholder engagement and collaboration

Authors:

K. Katsari, R. Illing, A. Papachristodoulou, C. A. Ciortea, V. Herédia, S. Puggina, G. Volford, X. Boulanger, A. Kaczor

DOI:

10.1594/esi2016/ESI-0015

DOI-Link:

https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/esi2016/ESI-0015

Fig. 1: Affidea Dose Excellence Countries

Fig. 2: Dose Excellence Teams and Communication Channels

Fig. 3: Dose Tracking solution

Fig. 4: Justification, Standardisation and Optimisation Dashboard

Background/Introduction

Introduction Computed Tomography (CT) was first introduced in the early 1970s. It quickly became an essential tool for the diagnosis of many medical conditions and the evaluation of treatment progress. Improved technology and the development of helical and multi-detector CT resulted in even broader utilization with a rapid use growth in many countries [1]. Although CT has become a major workhorse of diagnostic medicine, it is a procedure that uses higher levels of ionizing radiation than other x-ray modalities. Concerns about CT radiation began in...

Description of activity and work performed

Methods and Materials Designing and implementing a CT Dose Management strategy across 9 countries, for 53 CT systems from 3 vendors, with 20 different CT models, in both the private and public healthcare sectors is a challenging task. In order to achieve this, collaboration among radiologists, medical physicists, technologists, and those tasked with quality improvement and change management is essential. The structure of the teams and their interaction, the communication channels, each team member’s responsibilities and tasks, the processes and goals must be clearly outlined...

Conclusion and Recommendations

A clear dose management structure and strategy are crucial when CT protocol optimization and patient safety are concerned. Many different parameters have to be taken into account for a multi country strategy to be implemented, such as each National Health System’s rules and country legislation, reimbursement schemes, referral guidelines. Further posters featured in the 2016 European Congress of Radiology by our group can demonstrate that the Affidea Dose Excellence Strategy has been successful in building a dose awareness culture, optimizing practices and protocols, increasing patient...

Personal/Organisational information

Katia Katsari - Affidea Chief Medical Physicist and Dose Excellence project leader Dr. R. Illing - Affidea Chief Medical Officer Affidea B.V. Prins Bernhardplein 200, 1097 JB Amsterdam, The Netherlands affidea.com

References

1. OECD (2015), Health at a Glance 2015: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/health_glance-2015-en 2. J. Mathews & al, Small cancer risk following CT scans in childhood and adolescence confirmed, British Journal of Radiology, 2013. 3. Pearce MS, Salotti JA, Little MP, McHugh K, Lee C, Kim KP, et al. Radiation exposure from CT scans in childhood and subsequent risk of leukaemia and brain tumours: a retrospective cohort study. Lancet. 2012 Aug 4; 380 (9840): 499-505.   4. Fazel, R., Krumholz, H.M., Wang, Y., Ross, J.S.,...