Current radiation exposure of man - a comparison between digital imaging and environmental, workplace and accidental radiation burden

X-ray imaging in diagnostic radiology is recognized worldwide as an outstanding tool for the early recognition and prevention of diseases. The reverse side is that radiography contributes essentially to the exposure of the public. Mean effective doses, averaged over patients and non-patients, are reaching or exceeding the level of natural radiation. This is particularly the case when digital imaging techniques are utilized, such as CT, coronary angiography and interventional radiology. Individual effective doses for a patient may occur between several mSv and several hundred mSv by one examination or a series of examinations, while individual organ doses of a patient may reach equivalent doses even up to several Sv, such as for the skin. The purpose of this review is to provide information on effective dose levels occuring in diagnostic radiology as compared with individual effective doses achieved from environmental radiation, radiation at workplaces and after major radiation incidents.