Old enemy, new threat: you can't solve today's problems with yesterday's solution

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiological Protection
• Public Health

Background:

• International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) principles guide radiation protection.
• Optimization and diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) aim to minimize patient doses.
• Current approaches primarily focus on population dose, not individual cumulative exposure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the inadequacy of current radiation protection principles for individual patients.
• To explore potential improvements by examining practices in other industries.
• To propose strategies for managing increasing patient radiation doses.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing radiation protection principles (justification, optimization, dose limitation).
• Analysis of patient dose data exceeding established thresholds.
• Comparative study of approaches in the pharmaceutical industry and traffic management.

Main Results:

• A significant number of patients receive effective doses over 100 mSv or organ doses over 100 mGy.
• High doses are sometimes received within a single day or short cumulative periods.
• Existing principles may not adequately protect individuals undergoing multiple imaging procedures.

Conclusions:

• Radiation protection systems require enhancement to focus on individual patient needs.
• Refinement of justification principles is needed to account for cumulative doses.
• Proactive strategies are essential to manage the rising trend of patient radiation exposure.