[ RadSafe ] CT scans dangerous? -ALARA

[John Jacobus]

Stewart,
And that was in the 1970's before the advent of CT and
special procedures.  With more accessibility, more
complex procedures and higher current machines,
population doses from medical exposures are probably 8
times greater than the estimates make in the 1980s.

There is another factor associated with "useless"
x-ray scans.  It involves physicians referring patient
to stand-alone diagnostic imaging centers in which the
physician has financial investment.  I learned a long
time ago, where there is money there is crime.

By the way, John finally retired.

--- stewart farber <radproject at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> Hi all,
> 
> I have not been following this thread carefully, and
> do not know if my point below has been made in some
> manner. 
> 
> While ALARA, per se is not applied to the dose
> delivered in a given radiation diagnostic procedure,
> there is a real issue if there is significant total
> excess dose delivered to the US public due to the
> issue raised below.
> 
> In 1979, Dr.. John Villforth, then head of the FDA
> Bureau of Radiological Health [BRH], testified
> before Congress that by the FDA BRH estimate
> one-third of all medical radiation exposure was
> "unnecessary". Dr. Villforth was considering the
> problem with retakes due to use of improper
> technique, tests being ordered without proper
> indications for a given procedure,  etc., etc. 
> 
> If Dr. Villforth's rough estimate still holds, fully
> one-third of all medical diagnostic radiation
> integrated dose yields no useful diagnostic
> information. This sum amounts to very approximately
> 2 million person-rem per year of "unnecessary"
> radiation dose in the US alone. 
> 
> Does anyone have any information that Dr.
> Villforth's one-third "unnecessary" diagnostic
> radiation exposure is no longer applicable??
> 
> There is NO other source of excess useless radiation
> exposure to the US public than what Dr. Villforth
> cites. Is this excess radiation dose due to poor
> practice in medical applications in a broad sense
> ALARA? Should something be done or set as a goal to
> reduce "unneccessary" radiation exposure in
> diagnostic radiology?
> 
> As a simple comparison, the TMI accident caused
> about 1,000 person-rem of total integrated
> population exposure. Thus the excess wasted dose in
> routine medical testing per year cited by Dr.
> Villforth is equal to 2,000 TMI scale accidents per
> year in the US --year in year out. 
> 
> Stewart Farber, MS Public Health
> 
> Farber Medical Solutions, LLC
> Linac & Medical Instrumentation Brokerage
> 1285 Wood Ave.
> Bridgeport, CT 06604
> [203] 441-8433 [Office]
> [203] 522-2817 [Cell]
> [203] 367-0791 [Fax]
> email: radproject at sbcglobal.net
> website: http://www.farber-medical.com
>           
> ====================================
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "John Jacobus" <crispy_bird at yahoo.com>
> To: <radsafe at radlab.nl>
> Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 9:09 PM
> Subject: RE: [ RadSafe ] CT scans dangerous?
> 
> 
> > Ward,
> > ALARA does not and should not apply to medical
> > exposures. ALARA principles are used to reduce the
> > risk of harmful effects associated with radiation
> > exposures.  In medicine, the patient is frequently
> > already at risk from harm due to disease or
> injury. 
> > Radiation, surgery, prescribed drugs, etc., all
> have
> > the potential to improve the patents' health and
> > quality of life.  
> > 
> > 

+++++++++++++++++++
"If you guard your toothbrushes and diamonds with equal zeal, you'll probably lose fewer toothbrushes and more diamonds."
- Former national security advised McGeorge Bundy
-- John
John Jacobus, MS
Certified Health Physicist
e-mail:  crispy_bird at yahoo.com

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com