[ RadSafe ] Fwd: Insulin Pumps and X-rays

[Chris Alston]

James

What, if any, is their advice *in re* travel by commercial airliner,
especially very long-range transpolar flights?  If they do not advise
against it, I'd take their advice about diagnostic radiations such as those
found in ordinary radiography and nuclear medicine, with a grain or two of
NaCl.

Maybe you could get a demo pump, set it up on a fluoro table, let the beam
run on it until it had a bit of a toasting, but less than, say, 200 cGy,
and see what happens.  Might make a nice note for *Operational Health
Physics*, etc.

Cheers
ca
> On Dec 9, 2016, at 2:46 PM, Dewolfe, James <James.Dewolfe@
childrenscolorado.org> wrote:
> Multiple manufacturers of insulin pumps used by diabetics warn not to
expose the pump to x-rays, including diagnostic x-rays and CTs. One
manufacturer warns not to wear them during nuclear medicine exams. They
warn to keep them out of the same room as an x-ray machine (even dental
units), so this is not a warning about the impact on image quality. Does
anyone understand how these devices could be so sensitive to small amounts
of radiation? I was asked about this today by a radiology technologist, and
I was unable to answer his question. I am skeptical that these pumps could
be that sensitive and still function in the real world with fluctuating
background radiation.
>
> James DeWolfe | Health Physicist | Children's Hospital Colorado