WHAT:In a new study of nearly one million adults between the ages of 18 and 64, nearly 70 percent of participants underwent at least one medical imaging procedure between July 2005
In a new study of nearly one million adults between the ages of 18 and 64, nearly 70 percent of participants underwent at least one medical imaging procedure between July 2005 and December 2007, resulting in an average effective dose of radiation nearly double the amount they would otherwise be exposed to from natural sources. Nearly 20 percent of participants received at least moderate annual doses of radiation from diagnostic tests, and women and older individuals were at greater risk for radiation exposure, according to a report in the August 27 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
The study looked at imaging procedures involving radiation for diagnostic or treatment purposes; procedures in which radiation was specifically delivered for treatment, such as radiation for cancer, were excluded. Computed tomography (CT) scans and nuclear imaging accounted for three-fourths of radiation exposure, with nuclear stress tests to detect coronary heart disease, also known as myocardial perfusion imaging, cited as the procedure accounting for the largest single radiation exposure (22 percent of total effective dose in study participants).
Medical Imaging Procedures can Damage Kidneys
Kidney injury that can arise after undergoing certain medical imaging procedures increases a patient's risk of having a stroke or heart attack over the next year or two
Kidney injury that can arise after undergoing certain medical imaging procedures increases a patient's risk of having a stroke or heart attack over the next year or two
Studies are needed to determine whether the benefits of such imaging procedures to diagnosis and treat patients outweigh the potential risks of cumulative radiation exposure, according to Lauer. He calls on clinicians to "think and talk explicitly about the elements of danger in exposing our patients to radiation. This means taking a careful history to determine the cumulative dose of radiation a patient has already received and providing proper, personalized information to each patient about the risk" of developing cancer from cumulative exposure to radiation.
WHO:Michael S. Lauer, M.D., director of the NHLBI Divisions of Prevention and Population Sciences and of Cardiovascular Diseases, is available to comment. Lauer can address the use of imaging procedures for cardiovascular diseases as well as research recommendations from a scientific workshop sponsored by the NHLBI in July 2008 and described in the report "Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Imaging" published in the July 2009 issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging.
Chip-based Microwaves may Lead to New Advances in Medical Imaging
A team of two researchers from different educational institutions in the U.S. has proposed a method of generating high-power signals at frequencies of 200 GHz and higher on an ordinary
A team of two researchers from different educational institutions in the U.S. has proposed a method of generating high-power signals at frequencies of 200 GHz and higher on an ordinary
WHY:Radiation exposure is a known risk factor for cancer. Recent estimates suggest, for example, that as many as two percent of cancers could be attributed to radiation during CT scans. Although the radiation exposure from a single test is minimal, the frequency of the use of imaging tests that emit radiation continues to grow expansively, and often patients undergo repeated or multiple types of tests, thereby increasing their cumulative exposure to potentially cancer-causing radiation. Since 1992, the number of CT scans obtained has quadrupled. In addition, use of myocardial perfusion scans – which accounted for the single most frequent test and the highest radiation dose -- increased by more than six percent per year between 1993 and 2001.
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Hybrid Nanoparticles for Multimodal Medical Imaging
Since X-rays were discovered more than a century ago, triggering a revolution in medical imaging, clinicians have sought more powerful ways to see into the human body.
Since X-rays were discovered more than a century ago, triggering a revolution in medical imaging, clinicians have sought more powerful ways to see into the human body.
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New Multi-Modal Contrast Agents, A Boon For Medical Imaging
Medical imaging techniques like ultrasound and computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging and molecular imaging can all be made better by the newly developed multi-modal contrast agent.
Medical imaging techniques like ultrasound and computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging and molecular imaging can all be made better by the newly developed multi-modal contrast agent.
