Ionizing Radiation Exposure from Radiologic Imaging

Background The increased use of diagnostic imaging requiring the use of “ionizing radiation,” the rapidly expanding use of computed tomography in the emergency setting, the introduction of multi-detector CT units and newly reported concerns related to the human consequences of low-level radiation exposure have revitalized a long-standing concern over the quantification and management of an individual’ s cumulative “medical” radiation exposure.1,2,3 Studies have shown that many physicians, including radiologists, have developed a misconception that the shorter imaging acquisition times have resulted in lower doses of radiation, when in fact many times the opposite is true. The multi-detector CT units today, even with shorter scan times, expose patients to higher doses of radiation per scan than earlier units.