Exposure of the Swiss Population by Medical X-Rays

Abstract

Nationwide surveys on radiation dose to the population from medical radiology are recommended in order to follow the trends in population exposure and ensure radiation protection.The last survey in Switzerland was conducted in 1998,and the annual effective dose from medical radiology was estimated to be 1 mSv y j(-1) per capita. The purpose of this work was to follow the trends in diagnostic radiology between 1998 and 2008 in Switzerland and determine the contribution of different modalities and types of examinations to the collective effective dose from medical x-rays. For this reason, an online database(www.raddose.ch) was developed. All healthcare providers who hold a license to run an x-ray unit in the country were invited to participate in the survey. More than 225 examinations, covering eight radiological modalities, were included in the survey. The average effective dose for each examination was reassessed. Data from about 3,500 users were collected (42% response rate). The survey showed that the annual effective dose was 1.2 mSv/capita in 2008. The most frequent examinations are conventional and dental radiographies (88%). The contribution of computed tomography was only 6% in terms of examination frequency but 68% in terms of effective dose. The comparison with other countries showed that the effective dose per capita in Switzerland was in the same range as in other countries with similar healthcare systems, although the annual number of examinations performed in Switzerland was higher.

Patient Radiation Risk in Interventional Cardiology

“…The models are based on computed tomography images of real individuals and represent the human anatomy in three dimensions. The voxel volume for the Reference Male was 36.54 mm 3 and that for the Reference Female 15.25 mm 3 . The phantoms represent an adult male of 73 kg weight and 1.76 m height and an adult female of 60 kg and 1.63 m. All the organs and tissues required for the calculation of the effective dose according to ICRP 103 [2] are included in the phantoms.…”

“…The TLD crystals (LiF:Mg,Tl chips, TLD-100; Harshaw, Solon, Ohio) were calibrated towards an ionization chamber NE 2575 600 cm 3 (Nuclear Enterprise, U.K.) connected to an electrometer Keithley 6517A (Keithley Instruments Inc, Cleveland, Ohio) and a Co-60 source (mean energy 1.25 MeV). The individual sensitivity of each TLD was determined taking into account the energy correction factor calculated by mass energy absorption coefficients.…”

“…A large increase in both diagnostic and therapeutic interventional procedures has been observed in recent years [3,4]; the most common of them being coronary angiography (CA) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) [4,5]. Cardiac conditions previously treated by open heart surgery may now be safely and effectively performed by x-ray-guided interventions [6].…”

Radiation Dose Management in Pediatric CT

“…Most patients certainly benefit from these CT examinations, but in the last 10 years their impact on the collective dose has drastically increased and, therefore, efforts are required to control this trend and to ensure that the risk-benefit ratio clearly lies on the benefit side [1][2][3]. The most efficient way to improve protection of the population from radiation in the field of medical imaging is, obviously, to focus on justifying examinations.…”

Preliminary Values of Diagnostic Reference Level for Selected X-Ray Examinations in Indonesia

“…Given the various procedures available in X-ray examinations, studies to determine the patient entrance surface doses for this particular medical application of radiation have been carried out in many countries and regions, e.g., the UK [4], Greece [5], Iran [6], Italy [7], Ghana [8], Saudi Arabia [9], India [10], and Switzerland [11]. Under IAEA projects, patient doses were also measured in 12 countries in Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe [12], as well as in Latin America [13].…”