Congress:
EuroSafe Imaging 2016
Keywords:
Action 3 - Optimisation, diagnostic reference levels, image quality, Action 2 - Clinical diagnostic reference levels (DRLs)
Authors:
G. Paulo, E. Vano, A. Rodrigues
DOI:
10.1594/esi2016/ESI-0031
Background/Introduction
The risk of exposure to radiation is a permanent topic on the agenda of global organisations like the ICRP (www.icrp.org)1,
the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation2 (UNSCEAR,
www.unscear.org),
the IAEA3 (www.iaea.org) and the World Health Organization (WHO,
www.who.int).
The role of these global organisations is crucial,
as they continuously evaluate and analyse the scientific literature about the effects of ionising radiation and also publish recommendations and guidelines on how to use ionising radiation in a safe way.
The ICRP system of radiation protection is based on three fundamental principles: justification,
optimisation and dose limitation.
The principle of optimisation requires that the likelihood of incurring exposures,
the number of people exposed and the magnitude of their individual exposure should all be kept as low as reasonably achievable,
taking into account economic and societal factors.
In addition,
as part of the optimisation procedure,
the ICRP recommends that there should be restriction on the doses to individuals from a particular source,
which has led to the concept of dose constraints.
An optimisation process should be understood as a dynamic process and as part of the clinical audit programme of the radiology department4.
The optimisation of clinical protocols for paediatric patients should include the steps described in figure 1.
By implementing this dynamic process,
it is expected to reduce patient dose without interfering with diagnostic image quality.
The secret for the success of this process is the continuous contribution of a multidisciplinary team involving radiographers,
radiologists and medical physicists.
This concept constitutes the pillars in the development and implementation of a patient safety culture in the medical imaging department.