Reduction of Unwarranted Patient Exposure in X-ray Examinations

Background/Objective: Protecting patients from unwarranted radiation is a great safety concerntoradiologypractitioners,asmedicalX-raysarethe largestsourceofpublicexposure toionizingradiation. Materials and Methods: The entrance skin exposure (ESE) was measured by solid state dosimeter for fivecommon types of radiography.Dosimetery fora human ofaverage size wasperformedintheradiologycenters.TheresultsoffirstESEmeasurementstogetherwith recommendations according to CRCPD and NRPBwere returned to the radiology centers. Twomonthslater,allESEmeasurementswererepeated. Results:Themean,maximumand3rdquartileESEsweresignificantlydecreasedcompared withthefirstmeasurements.Thisqualitycontrolprogrammanagedtodecreasethepatient doses (ESEs) of AP and lateral lumbar spine, AP cervical and lateral skull radiographs by about%10,25%,30%and25%respectively. Conclusion: This survey indicates that in X-ray examinations of the lumbar, thoracic and cervicalspine,skullandchestthepatientdosecanbesignificantlyreducedwithoutruining theimagingquality