Background/introduction
The International Committee on Radiological Protection (ICRP) promotes the As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) principle as a guideline for diagnostic imaging [1].
If one follows this principle,
the effects associated with imaging can be minimized.
However,
it is difficult to know what the lowest level could be.
By using radiation dose monitoring,
clinicians,
physicists,
technologists,
and other health care professionals could ensure that the ALARA principle is adhered to throughout the diagnostic imaging process [2].
A good way to quantify this would be through...
Description of activity and work performed
HC13 aggregated data for head,
chest,
and abdomen-pelvis exams from all of the provinces and territories in Canada.
In order to have a provincial DRL breakdown,
a literature review of PubMed and MEDLINE databases was conducted.
The search was limited to include literature from 2007 to Current.
Upon completion,
eight articles from six provinces were deemed acceptable for inclusion in this environmental scan.
The 75th percentile provincial DRL data for single—phase,
non-contrast head,
chest,
and abdomen-pelvis exams was obtained in the literature and compared to...
Conclusion and recommendations
The purpose of this study was to identify and compare the DRLs for common adult CT scans from across the country of Canada.
Overall,
it appeared that the majority of DRLs were below the national guidelines,
with outliers serving as motivation to reach the standards.
Consistent dose monitoring can assist in reaching a DRL reflective of the ALARA principle.
Once DRLs are established,
it is recommended that they are revisited as further dose reduction practices are implemented.
Some solutions to reduce dose are to use...
Personal/organisational information
Canada Safe Imagingrepresents a collaborative undertaking between government agencies,
professional associations,
universities,
colleges,
national research institutions,
and hospitals.
Within each sector,
a multi-disciplinary approach has also been adopted,
involving partners,
researchers,
technologists,
medical physicists and other health care providers using or prescribing the use of radiation.
Canada Safe Imaging has been formed to address the need for a national strategy and action plan as it relates to radiation safety for medical imaging care in Canada.
Financial support from the Southern Ontario Smart Computing Innovation Platform...
References
[1] International Commission on Radiological Protection.
ICRP 103: the 2007 recommendations of the international commission on radiological protection.
Ann ICRP 2007;37:330.
[2] Bjarnason TA,
Thakur Y,
Chakraborty S,
et al.
Canadian Association of Radiologists Radiation Protection Working Group: automated patient specific dose registries what are they and what are they good for? Can Assoc Radiol J 2015;66:192e7.
[3] International Atomic Energy Agency.
Quality assurance programme for computed tomography: diagnostic and therapy applications.
Available at: http://www.iaea.org/Publications/index.html; 2012.
[4] IPEM.
Guidance on the establishment and use of...