Image Gently: Reducing Radiation in Children

Writer: Dr. Matthew Jones, Pediatric Radiologist, Northwest Radiology Network

MatthewJonesImage Gently, initially launched in January 2008, is a campaign led by the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging to increase awareness of protecting children from excessive radiation during medical imaging.

Radiation is often necessary for proper diagnosis in radiology, but with careful planning, the amount of radiation can be lessened while still achieving an accurate diagnosis.

The radiologists and technologists of Northwest Radiology Network work together to optimize each study for each child in order to reduce the radiation dose and provide an accurate diagnosis.

To learn more about the Image Gently campaign, please click here.

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Is it safe for children to have X-rays?

The amount of radiation used for diagnostic imaging studies in children, including X-rays, has been extensively studied and has generally been found to be safe. Some large population-based studies (most notably, studies of the Japanese atomic bomb survivors from WWII) have indicated there is a very small risk of developing cancer from the low levels of radiation used in medical imaging. This risk is so small as to be controversial in the scientific literature.

However, in light of the possibility of some risk, Image Gently and the Society of Pediatric Radiology advise the use of medical radiation should be kept as low as reasonably achievable. This is what the radiologists at Northwest Radiology strive to achieve with each study performed on a child.

One helpful way to think about radiation is to consider the amount of radiation we are exposed to on a daily basis. There is radiation all around us in the form of cosmic rays as well as radiation from minerals, soil and rocks. Each time we take a plane flight, our radiation exposure increases because there is less atmosphere shielding us from cosmic radiation. In fact, just living in Denver at a mile high elevation results in greater radiation exposure than those who reside here in the Midwest.

To put radiation doses in perspective, an X-ray of a fractured arm in a child involves less than one day’s worth of normal background radiation. A single chest X-ray utilizes about one day’s worth of natural background radiation. By comparison, a flight from New York to Los Angeles involves exposure to about six days’ worth of natural background radiation. CT scans use significantly more radiation (a CT scan of the head may involve up to eight months’ worth of natural background radiation).

 

What questions should parents ask before their child has an imaging procedure?

  • Is the imaging test medically necessary?
  • Can previous tests substitute for this exam?
  • Are there alternative exams that don’t require radiation? (For example, ultrasound and MRI do not use radiation.)
  • Is the facility familiar with imaging children?

 

How does NWR reduce unnecessary imaging and optimize radiation dose?

Northwest Radiology has a dedicated team of pediatric radiologists. These are physicians who are specifically trained and certified in the imaging of children. They work diligently with the medical imaging technologists to tailor imaging protocols and techniques so radiation doses are kept as low as possible. They also provide consultation services to your primary care provider to help decide on the best imaging tests to perform for each child.

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