Congress:
EuroSafe Imaging 2020
Keywords:
Multicentre study, Experimental, Not applicable, Quality assurance, Radiation safety, Physics, Dosimetry, Fluoroscopy, CT, Conventional radiography, Radioprotection / Radiation dose, Radiation physics, Paediatric, Action 7 - Radiation protection of children
Authors:
H. Delis, C.-L. Chapple, P. Homolka, P. R. Costa, E. attalla, L. E. Lubis, T. A. Sackey, G. L. poli
DOI:
10.26044/esi2020/ESI-01639
Background/introduction
Optimization is a fundamental process in medical imaging as a tool of continuous quality improvement and as requirement by international safety guidelines [1].
Evaluation of practices that will eventually lead to their optimization can be motivated by:
- Need for continuous quality improvement of practices
- Contribution to Diagnostic Reference Levels
- Regulatory requirements
Methodologies for the evaluation and optimization processes have been published in the past, including extensive guidelines for paediatric patients [HHS-24]. To evaluate the applicability of these approaches in a wide range of clinical settings the International Atomic Energy Agency initiated in 2015 a Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on the “Evaluation and Optimization of Paediatric Imaging”.
Institutes from 10 IAEA Member States (Austria, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Egypt, Germany, Ghana, Indonesia, United Kingdom and United States) were selected to be part of this coordinated research project (CRP) and contributed in different parts of the research, with 6 institutes from 5 Member States (Austria, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia and United Kingdom) contributing data for the work presented here. Although participating institutes are not necessarily representing the entirety of practice in their Countries, they provide the wide spectrum of different populations, practices and technologies that is necessary for this evaluation.
The optimization studies carried out as part of the coordinated research project focused on paediatric imaging, involving diagnostic radiology (general radiography (GR), fluoroscopy, computed tomography (CT)) and nuclear medicine (NM) examinations.