New Image Wisely Radiation Safety Case Discusses Child-Sizing CT Dose

June 19, 2017 — The tenth special edition Image Wisely Radiation Safety Case is now available to help radiologists, imaging technologists and medical physicists assess their understanding of important radiation safety concepts, including dose monitoring and management.

The case — Child-sizing CT Dose: Optimizing Patient Care Through Quality Improvement – Pediatric and Adult Imaging — is part of the Image Wisely series of free, online and mobile-compatible educational offerings. It was developed by Image Gently with the assistance of the American College of Radiology (ACR).

This case offers information on how to manage the radiation dose for computed tomography (CT) examinations to provide physicians with diagnostic-quality images while exposing patients to a well-controlled amount of radiation in order to obtain the images, with special emphasis on pediatric imaging. “This case is designed to provide practical explanations of some of the newer technologies and terminology associated with CT scans,” said Keith Strauss, MSc of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, who was lead author of the case along with co-author, Marilyn Goske, M.D. “It discusses radiation risk and the relationship of image quality to patient dose,” noted Strauss.

“’Child-sizing CT Dose: Optimizing Patient Care Through Quality Improvement – Pediatric and Adult Imaging’ is an excellent addition to the Image Wisely collection of educational material, and, we appreciate Image Gently’s efforts to develop the case,” said Eric Gingold, Ph.D., director of the Image Wisely Radiation Safety Case series and member of the Image Wisely Executive Committee. “CT imaging is invaluable to medicine; however, it does expose patients to ionizing radiation. Practitioners should be cognizant of the potential risks involved and informed about the appropriate use of the technology,” he added.

Radiation safety cases will be presented throughout the year. Case content includes embedded questions that provide expert feedback as well as references and resources for further study. Continuing education credit for radiologists, imaging technologists and medical physicists is available. This case is directed primarily toward physicians, residents, technologists and medical physicists.

For more information: www.imagewisely.org