Image Wisely® - The US Campaign for Radiation Safety in Adult Medical Imaging

Congress:

EuroSafe Imaging 2016

Poster Number:

ESI-0016

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 6 - Education and training in medical radiation protection, Action 8 - Radiation protection training and learning material, Action 13 - Stakeholder engagement and collaboration

Authors:

P. Butler, W. W. Mayo-Smith, R. Morin, W. Creech, D. Dunne, K. Galvin, M. Millette, D. P. Frush

DOI:

10.1594/esi2016/ESI-0016

DOI-Link:

https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/esi2016/ESI-0016

Fig. 1: Image Gently/Image Wisely poster.

Table 1: Visitors to Image Wisely website.

Fig. 2: Image Wisely pledging.

Background/Introduction

A 2009 report by the National Council of Radiation Protection and Measurements (“Ionizing Radiation Exposure of the Population of the United States”) [1] showed that almost half of the annual radiation exposure to the US population was from medical imaging of patients. The largest medical sources were computed tomography (CT), nuclear medicine and interventional fluoroscopy. That same year a joint task force of the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) identified the need to address growing concerns about...

Description of activity and work performed

Image Wisely Website The website includes routinely-updated content on safe practices in CT, nuclear medicine and fluoroscopy for radiologists, medical physicists, imaging technologists, referring practitioners and patients. The front page features links to current radiation stories in the media (“News”), safety-related journal articles and reports (“What We’re Reading”) and important information on US regulations and standards impacting medical imaging (“Regulations & Standards Updates”). The Executive Committee regularly reviews and updates all Image Wisely® content for accuracy, currency and interest to the radiology community. There were...

Conclusion and Recommendations

The importance of imaging in modern medicine is universally acknowledged. Because it is fast, non-invasive, widely available, and effective, imaging use has grown over the past three decades. Like all medical procedures, the benefits and risks of an imaging examination should be weighed before the procedure and explained to the patient and their caregivers in the case of children. Image Wisely® serves as a resource for referring clinicians, imaging professionals and patients undergoing medical imaging exams.

Personal/Organisational information

P. Butler – American College of Radiology, Reston, VA USA W.W. Mayo-Smith – Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA USA R. Morin – Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL USA W. Creech – American College of Radiology, Reston, VA USA D. Dunne – American College of Radiology, Reston, VA USA K Galvin – Radiological Society of North America, Chicago, IL USA M. Millette – Radiological Society of North America, Chicago, IL USA D. Frush – Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC USA

References

1. National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. Ionizing radiation exposure of the population of the United States (report 160). Bethesda, Md: National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements; 2009. 2. Goske MJ, Applegate KE, Boylan J, et al. The Image Gently campaign: working together to change practice. AJR 2008; 190: 273 – 274. 3. Brink JA, Amis ES. Image Wisely: A campaign to increase awareness about adult radiation protection. Radiology 2010; 257(3): 601-602.