[ RadSafe ] Can any one send me that US policy on using x-ray

Wed Aug 19 11:42:19 CDT 2015

Dear Dr. Clayton,
You are correct.Currently, a non govermental organization (NGO) in collaboration with a few dental colleges is involved in issuing birth certificates to children (who do not have any birth certificates) on the basis of dental images. Certainly this cannot be compared as a medical study (with diagnostic or therapeutic benefits). In this particular instance there are other ethical issues as well. I am including a news item on the project which will give you an idea about the project
100 orphans get birth certificates after age estimation studies

Friday, 14 August 2015 - 7:55am IST Updated: Friday, 14August 2015 - 8:42am IST | Agency: dna | 

About ahundred children from orphanages are all set to get their birth certificates,an important document for government work. In a collaborative charity projectby Terna Dental College, Mumbai, and Date of Birth Foundation, Hong Kong, thecollege and the foundation have signed an MoU to conduct dental age research.

"Inthe first phase of the project, 100 children without birth documents wereidentified from NaviMumbai region andbrought to the dental college, where dental x-rays were obtained and ageestimation was done. Hence, age certificates will be issued to these children;now, these kids have a date to remember and celebrate in their lives,"said Dr Shishir Singh, dean of the college.

Birth registrationis a fundamental human right. The United Nations Convention on the Rights ofthe Child (UNCRC) article 7 states that a child has to be registeredimmediately after birth; this applies to all countries that are signatorieswith the United Nations.

"Illegitimatechildren, children in orphanages, children born at home do not have birthcertificates. Through this procedure, we will be able to give them agecertificates," said Singh.

In India,registration of birth is mandatory, according to Registration of Births andDeaths Act, 1969. As of 2012, Unicef reports that only 41% of births areregistered in India. It further projects that out of the 26 million birthsevery year, around 10 million go unregistered.

A birth certificate servesas an identity document that confirms the existence of a child. The absence ofbirth documents questions the existence of millions of children around theworld and fails to guard them against age-related crimes and abuses. A birthcertificate serves as a baseline document for getting admission to school,obtaining driving licence, passport, claim of property, and seek insurance andsocial security benefits. The lack of birth identity documents can lead tofalsified testimonials of age when children want to enrol in school, work,appear in national competitive exams and participate in age categorised sportsand games tournaments.

 AS per US guidelines (Federal or State) is this practice "justified" ICRP jargon!

Regards

Parthasarathy

     On Tuesday, 18 August 2015, 23:10, "Bradt, Clayton (HEALTH)" <clayton.bradt at health.ny.gov> wrote:

The regulation of the use of X-ray equipment in the US is done by the individual states.  Every state has its own regulations although they are all  very similar to each other since they tend to follow the Suggested State Regulations of the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD).  In New York no radiation can be applied to humans without a physician’s (or dentist’s) order and must be performed by a qualified technologist. (This is the gist of it, anyway.)  So absent a valid medical reason, no one is supposed to be x-rayed. Determining age does not necessarily sound like a valid medical reason, but I suppose a physician might consider it to be under certain circumstances.  I believe that this is essentially the same in every state in the US.    Clayton Bradt Principal Radiophysicist NYS Dept. of Health 518-474-1993