Medical imaging devices companies have a track record of improving the radiation safety of radiological devices bydeveloping dose reduction features and providing training. A study recently published on the British Journal of Medicine1confirmed that there is an extreme variation in dose levels used for CT scans, potentially exposing patients to unnecessary radiation. The study bases its findings on the analysis of dose data for more than 2 million CT scans, from 151 institutions in seven countries. Radiation doses vary greatly across countries depending on national...

DOSE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS A dose management system (DMS) is an IT solution designed to automatically collect and analyze patient radiation exposure data across multi-facility, multi-modality, and multi-vendor imaging environments. DMSsenable healthcare professionals to monitor the radiation exposure of their patients, evaluate their practices and make improvements to optimize the benefits from the exposure. They help to: Document dose Set Dose Reference Levels Monitor machine performance Optimize systems at user level Manage protocols Identify outliers They also provide reporting capabilities for radiation safety personnel, internal stakeholders,...

Reducing the variation of dose levels in radiological examination is the next step in continuing dose optimization. While manufacturers have done a lot in the past to develop and introduce dose reduction technologies, dose can be further optimized developing more consistent standards. The study mentioned in the introduction, estimates that CT dose can be further reduced by 50%, without reducing diagnostic accuracy. Dose management system provide hospitals and clinics the tools to collect and analyze the data required to optimize their practices, to ensure that...

COCIR is the European Trade Association representing the medical imaging, radiotherapy, health ICT and electromedical industries. Founded in 1959, COCIR is a non-profit association headquartered in Brussels (Belgium) with a China Desk based in Beijing since 2007. COCIR is unique as it brings together the healthcare, IT and telecommunications industries.Our focus is to open markets for COCIR members in Europe and beyond. We provide a wide range of services on regulatory, technical, market intelligence, environmental, standardisation, international and legal affairs. COCIR is also a founding...

1- Smith-Bindman et al., 2019 "International variation in radiation dose for computed tomography examinations: prospective cohort study" (British Journal of Medicine).