AAPM Medical Physics Practice Guideline 14.a: Yttrium-90 microsphere radioembolization.

Radioembolization using Yttrium-90 ( Y) microspheres is widely used to treat primary and metastatic liver tumors. The present work provides minimum practice guidelines for establishing and supporting such a program. Medical physicists play a key role in patient and staff safety during these procedures.

AAPM task group report 305: Guidance for standardization of vendor-neutral reject analysis in radiography.

Reject rate analysis is considered an integral part of a diagnostic radiography quality control (QC) program. A rejected image is a patient radiograph that was not presented to a radiologist for diagnosis and that contributes unnecessary radiation dose to the patient. Reject rates that are either too high or too low may suggest systemic department shortcomings in QC mechanisms.

131I Intake and Regulatory Compliance Following Administration of Capsular 131I Sodium Iodide for Treatment of Thyroid Disorders.

Intake of 131I by nuclear medicine technologists and physician Authorized Users was evaluated using bioassay data from administration of 131I sodium iodide in capsular form during a 5-year period. Maximum estimated annual intake of 131I sodium iodide, based on bioassay measurements performed at 24 hours post administration, ranged from 10.9 to 35.

Use of Reduced Activity Seeds in Breast Radioactive Seed Localization.

Radioactive seed localization procedures, using I seeds of typical activity 3.7 MBq and higher, are performed to localize nonpalpable lesions in the breast for surgical excision and pathology analysis. This study evaluated the use and dosimetry of I seeds of activity <3.

Early Results of Lung Cancer Screening and Radiation Dose Assessment by Low-dose CT at a Community Hospital.

Background: The National Lung Screening Trial showed a reduction in overall and cancer-specific mortality for patients screened with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) versus chest radiograph. Some question whether this can be achieved in community healthcare settings. Our aim was to analyze lung cancer screening outcomes and administered radiation dose using LDCT scans at a community hospital.

Estimates of effective dose for CT scans of the lower extremities.

Purpose: To determine the dose-length product (DLP)-effective dose (ED) (DLP/ED) conversion coefficient (k) tables for the lower extremities that can be used for calculating ED.

Materials And Methods: Dose calculations were performed on standard phantoms using a validated Monte Carlo calculation tool. Calculations were performed to obtain ED values for tube voltages from 80 kV to 140 kV in steps of 20 kV for the following examinations: hip (femur), knee, ankle, and computed tomographic (CT) angiography of the lower extremities.

Consequences of increased use of computed tomography imaging for trauma patients in rural referring hospitals prior to transfer to a regional trauma centre.

Background: Computed tomography (CT) plays an integral role in the evaluation and management of trauma patients. As the number of referring hospital (RH)-based CT scanners increased, so has their utilization in trauma patients before transfer. We hypothesized that this has resulted in increased time at RH, image duplication, and radiation dose.

Applying Image Gently SM and Image Wisely SM in nuclear medicine.

Although computed tomography (CT) scan radiation dose has drawn much attention, radiation dose from nuclear medicine procedures should not be overlooked. An estimated 19.7 million nuclear medicine procedures are done annually in the United States, with patient radiation dose comparable to that from CT scans.

Radiological incident preparedness for community hospitals: a demonstration project.

In November 2007, the Wisconsin Division of Public Health Hospital Disaster Preparedness Program State Expert Panel on Radiation Emergencies issued a report titled The Management of Patients in a Radiological Incident. Gundersen Lutheran Health System was selected to conduct a demonstration project to implement the recommendations in that report. A comprehensive radiological incident response plan was developed and implemented in the hospital's Trauma and Emergency Center, including the purchase and installation of radiation detection and identification equipment, staff education and training, a tabletop exercise, and three mock incident test exercises.