1.
Radiation Protection of Patients (RPOP) website
The Radiation Protection of Patients (RPOP) website,
https://rpop.iaea.org/ (Fig. 1) was launched in 2006 and has been a significant instrument of the IAEA to communicate information to health professionals,
patients and public on benefits and risks of ionizing radiation in medical applications.
The website is kept updated and new information added on a monthly basis.
Once updated,
newsletter is sent to the collected email list,
having currently around 12 000 users.
The RPOP website has grown to be the top website of the world in the area of medical radiation protection,
with over 800 000 visits per year and immense outreach in more than 215 countries.
2.
Information for the health professionals
The information for the health professionals is structured in 6 sections:
Each sections provides information about the requirements of the BSS about responsibilities of medical professionals,
justification and optimization related to the corresponding modalities and procedures.
The sub-section "Diagnostic Reference Levels" under the "Radiology" provides up-to-date information about the establishment and use of DRLs for optimization of patient protection.
The sub-section "Imaging modalities" provides answers to the frequently asked questions on patient dose reduction and good practice in:
Specific information is provided in two dedicated sections on radiation protection for the special groups:
3.
Information for the patients and public
The information for the public section provides general information about different types of radiation,
radiation exposure from different radiation sources,
and radiation risks.
The information for the patients section provides specific information on risks associated with different modalities and methods,
organized in sub-sections on:
The information in these sections can be also used by radiological practitioners and referring physicians in communicating to their patients information about radiological procedures and associated risks.
4.
Information material
The RPOP website provides access to electronic form of printable information materials (posters,
leaflets and broshures) covering essential topics in patient safety:
The materials have been translated into many world languages,
and are freely available for printing and use in any medical facility.
5.
Training material
The training materials developed by the IAEA has been recognized to be a powerful tool to support the radiation protection education and training of healthcare professionals in the world.
Nine training packages are available for free download,
each targeting a specific field of medical use of ionizing radiation,
and a particular group of professionals:
The training material on this site is available for free downloading (subject to conditions specified in 'Intended use' and 'Disclaimer' below),
and are on the topics of Radiation Protection in:
A new training material on Radiation protection in dental radiology is expected to be available for free download later this year.
In addition to English,
the material is available in Spanish and Russian.
6.
Training events
The IAEA is organizing or supporting every year a number of training events for radiologists,
radiation technologists,
medical physicists and other specialists using X rays ( Fig. 2; Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6).
7.
E-learning
The IAEA has created e-learning program designed to provide continuing education to medical imaging professionals in Dose management in computed tomography (CT).
Throughout this e-learning course the participants are expected to improve their understanding on the appropriate use of CT and practical aspects of CT radiation dose and protocol creation,
and be able to apply this understanding in a clinical setting.
This e-learning course is accessible to everyone.
Upon successful completion of the course,
participants will receive a certificate of completion.
The e-learning is organized into eleven modules ( Fig. 7:
- Module 1: Appropriateness and justification in CT
- Module 2: Overview of CT scan parameters
- Module 3: Tube current and Automatic Exposure Control
- Module 4: Tube potential in CT
- Module 5: Beam collimation,
pitch,
and speed in CT
- Module 6: CT dose metrics and tracking
- Module 7: Aspects for chest CT protocols
- Module 8: Aspects for abdominal CT protocols
- Module 9: Aspects for head CT protocols
- Module 10: Aspects for pediatric CT protocols
- Module 11: Dose optimization in pregnancy.
8.
Webinars
The Radiation Protection of Patients Unit of the IAEA has started in 2016 a new initiative: free webinars on topics in radiation protection in medical uses of ionizing radiation.
The first webinar was broadcasted in February 2016 and since then the IAEA held 7 webinars.
The recordings from these webinars are available on the RPOP webpage:
Title |
Presenter |
Date of broadcast |
Strategies for Communicating Radiation Risk for Medical Imaging in Children |
Prof.
Donald Frush |
15 December 2016,
3 pm CET |
Radiation exposure of the pregnant and breastfeeding patients in nuclear medicine |
Assoc.
Prof.
Sigrid Leide-Svegborn |
13 October 2016, 2 pm CET |
Managing X-ray exposure to pregnant patients |
Prof.
John Damilakis |
14 July 2016, 2 pm CET |
Approaches to estimating radiation exposure to the lens of the eye during interventional procedures (SPANISH) |
Prof.
Eliseo Vano |
4 May 2016, 3 pm CET |
Radiation induced skin injuries in interventional procedures |
Dr.
Madan Rehani |
5 April 2016, 3 pm CET |
Approaches to estimating radiation exposure to the lens of the eye during interventional procedures |
Prof.
Eliseo Vano |
9 March 2016, 3 pm CET |
Is cataract a real risk to those working in interventional suites? |
Dr.
Madan Rehani |
4 February 2016, 3 pm CET |
The webinar in December 2016,
and upcoming webinars in January-March 2016 are organized jointly with the Image Gently alliance on topic from Radiation protection in paediatric imaging.
Learn how to register and how to attend the future webinars here.