What Patients Want to Know about Imaging Examinations: A Multiinstitutional U.S. Survey in Adult and Pediatric Teaching Hospitals on Patient Preferences for Receiving Information before Radiologic Examinations.

Purpose To identify what information patients and parents or caregivers found useful before an imaging examination, from whom they preferred to receive information, and how those preferences related to patient-specific variables including demographics and prior radiologic examinations. Materials and Methods A 24-item survey was distributed at three pediatric and three adult hospitals between January and May 2015. The χ or Fisher exact test (categorical variables) and one-way analysis of variance or two-sample t test (continuous variables) were used for comparisons.

Pediatric Chest CT Diagnostic Reference Ranges: Development and Application.

Purpose To determine diagnostic reference ranges on the basis of the size of a pediatric patient's chest and to develop a method to estimate computed tomographic (CT) scanner-specific mean size-specific dose estimates (SSDEs) as a function of patient size and the radiation output of each CT scanner at a site. Materials and Methods The institutional review boards of each center approved this retrospective, HIPAA-compliant, multicenter study; informed consent was waived. CT dose indexes (SSDE, volume CT dose index, and dose length product) of 518 pediatric patients (mean age, 9.

Improving health literacy: use of an informational brochure improves parents' understanding of their child's fluoroscopic examination.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine parents' knowledge about pediatric fluoroscopic procedures and potential risk from ionizing radiation before and after being given an informational brochure.

Subjects And Methods: We reviewed responses from 120 randomly selected participants who were parents or guardians of pediatric patients undergoing diagnostic fluoroscopic examinations. A questionnaire assessed participants' knowledge of the procedure, radiation exposure, and whether their child had a prior examination before and after receiving an informational brochure.

Diagnostic reference ranges and the American College of Radiology Dose Index Registry: the pediatric experience.

CT scans are powerful tools used in the care of pediatric patients daily. Yet the increased use of CT warrants careful monitoring. This article defines diagnostic reference levels and how they can be used to guide practice.

Curbing potential radiation-induced cancer risks in oncologic imaging: perspectives from the 'image gently' and 'image wisely' campaigns.

Medical imaging that uses ionizing radiation, such as CT, radiography, nuclear medicine, and fluoroscopy, is a cornerstone of the care of oncology patients and provides great benefit. Ionizing radiation at high doses is a known carcinogen.The exact degree of the risk of carcinogenesis from the lower doses of ionizing radiation used in medical imaging is less clear.

Radiation protection and dose monitoring in medical imaging: a journey from awareness, through accountability, ability and action…but where will we arrive?

Radiation awareness and protection of patients have been the fundamental responsibilities in diagnostic imaging since the discovery of x-rays late in 1895 and the first reports of radiation injury in 1896. In the ensuing years, there have been significant advancements in equipment that uses either x-rays to form images, such as fluoroscopy or computed tomography (CT), or the types of radiation emitted during nuclear imaging procedures (e.g.

The Image Gently pediatric digital radiography safety checklist: tools for improving pediatric radiography.

Transition from film-screen to digital radiography requires changes in radiographic technique and workflow processes to ensure that the minimum radiation exposure is used while maintaining diagnostic image quality. Checklists have been demonstrated to be useful tools for decreasing errors and improving safety in several areas, including commercial aviation and surgical procedures. The Image Gently campaign, through a competitive grant from the FDA, developed a checklist for technologists to use during the performance of digital radiography in pediatric patients.

System for verifiable CT radiation dose optimization based on image quality. part I. Optimization model.

Purpose: To develop and validate a mathematical radiation dose optimization model for computed tomography (CT) of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis.

Materials And Methods: This quality improvement project was determined not to constitute human subject research. A model for measuring water-equivalent diameter (DW) based on the topogram was developed and validated on each axial section in eight CT examinations of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis (500 images).

Image gently campaign back to basics initiative: ten steps to help manage radiation dose in pediatric digital radiography.

Objective: The purpose of this review is to summarize 10 steps a practice can take to manage radiation exposure in pediatric digital radiography.

Conclusion: The Image Gently campaign raises awareness of opportunities for lowering radiation dose while maintaining diagnostic quality of images of children. The newest initiative in the campaign, Back to Basics, addresses methods for standardizing the approach to pediatric digital radiography, highlighting challenges related to the technology in imaging of patients of widely varying body sizes.

Diagnostic reference ranges for pediatric abdominal CT.

Purpose: To develop diagnostic reference ranges (DRRs) and a method for an individual practice to calculate site-specific reference doses for computed tomographic (CT) scans of the abdomen or abdomen and pelvis in children on the basis of body width (BW).

Materials And Methods: This HIPAA-compliant multicenter retrospective study was approved by institutional review boards of participating institutions; informed consent was waived. In 939 pediatric patients, CT doses were reviewed in 499 (53%) male and 440 (47%) female patients (mean age, 10 years).

Large-scale quality improvement for radiation protection of children worldwide: lessons from the past applied to the present.

Objective: The objective of this article is to highlight strategies that can be used to implement changes locally for improved safety of pediatric patients. Specific examples of international organizations engaged with quality improvement are discussed.

Conclusion: Large-scale quality improvement to promote radiation protection for children is being aggressively pursued by numerous international organizations.

Image Gently: progress and challenges in CT education and advocacy.

Significant progress has been made in radiation protection for children during the last 10 years. This includes increased awareness of the need for radiation protection for pediatric patients with international partnerships through the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging. This paper identifies five areas of significant progress in radiation safety for children: the growth of the Alliance; the development of an adult radiation protection campaign Image Wisely™; increased collaboration with government agencies, societies and the vendor community; the development of national guidelines in pediatric nuclear medicine, and the development of a size-based patient dose correction factor by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, Task Group 204.