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Anal carcinoma is an important but rare condition, managed in specialist centres. Both endoanal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used in the locoregional staging and follow-up of patients with anal cancer, and both may assist in treatment planning and prognosis. Recent guidelines published by the European Society for Medical Oncology have recommended MRI as the technique of choice for assessment of locoregional disease. This paper describes the techniques for both endoanal ultrasound and MRI, and compares the relative merits and disadvantages of each in the local assessment of anal carcinoma.

While patient entrance surface dose rate is an important indicator of dose performance for fluoroscopic units, there has been no standardized approach to measuring this. Since results are strongly dependent on the type of phantom used and the relative positions of the X-ray tube, intensifier and phantom, comparisons of the performance for different units are difficult to make. This document sets out a protocol for making these measurements using a standard phantom and standard configurations for different types of X-ray unit Values of dose rates which might be expected are given.

Concern has been expressed about the relatively high radiation doses to the lens of the eye received by the operator during cardiac catheterization studies. A study was undertaken to assess the occupational doses received by cardiologists and to examine the factors that affect the individual's eye dose. Eighteen cardiologists working in five catheterization laboratories at three centres were included in the study. Their eye doses, workload and individual study details were monitored at each centre. Operating dose rates and scattered radiation were also measured for each unit to compare equipment performance. The study demonstrated that the relationships between the cardiologist's eye dose and factors such as the dose efficiency of the X-ray equipment, scattered dose rates, examination protocols and workload are complex and vary from centre to centre. Because of these variations general workload limits may be inaccurate and should only be used for general guidance when no direct measurements are available. Such limits should be verified by local measurements as soon as is practical.

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