Dose Matters!
Many imaging technologies use ionizing radiation, so our medical team strives to keep the dose as low as reasonably achievable without compromising the image quality needed to make a correct diagnosis.
Years of experience and research have shown that it is not necessary to use adult-sized doses of radiation to obtain high-quality images in children. That's why we calibrate all of our X-ray-based equipment and adapt protocols in a way that minimizes each patient's exposure. And that's why members of our team are leading a national effort to educate radiologists and parents about the importance of child-size dosing during computed tomography (CT) exams.
Background
The U.S. population is now exposed to seven times more ionizing radiation than it was in the early 1980s, largely because of greater use of CT and nuclear medicine, according to the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, (NCRP). CT scans deliver higher doses of radiation than X-rays, but when used properly, they can provide important and sometimes life-saving information.
The Issue
Many institutions don't use radiation dose-reduction techniques when scanning kids, whose rapidly dividing cells are more susceptible to damage. While it is difficult to show directly that radiation doses from CT lead directly to cancer, "good data from other sources of exposure show that there are increased cancers in people who have been exposed to radiation at levels now encountered by patients undergoing CT scans," according to the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging.
Read more about CT and cancer risk.
The Children's Difference
- All of our radiography equipment, including plain X-ray and computed tomography (CT) units, is state-of-the-art and specially designed or adapted for pediatric use
- We calibrate our equipment to keep radiation exposure as low as reasonably achievable (the ALARA standard). We are always looking for ways to improve our disease-specific protocols and further reduce the amount of radiation we use
- Sometimes it is possible to reach a diagnosis by using imaging technologies that do not involve ionizing radiation: ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), for example. When appropriate, our pediatric radiologists will advise referring physicians that this is the safest course of action
The "Image Gently" Campaign
Pediatric Radiologist and CT Division Chief Michael Callahan, MD, and radiological physicist Keith J. Strauss are key members of the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging. The Alliance has launched "Image Gently," an ambitious campaign to educate radiologists, technologists, and parents on the need to lower and limit the exposure of children to radiation during CT scans. In 2008, the Alliance created a Web site, ImageGently.org, which features FAQs for parents, medical professionals, and the media.
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