[ RadSafe ] Insulin Pumps and X-rays

Rees, Brian G brees at lanl.gov
Mon Dec 26 18:56:26 CST 2016


Some electronic components are sensitive to high rates, and the instantaneous rate for a short pulse can be pretty high.   The accumulated dose may be low, but that's only part of the story.  I suspect that as parts shrink, and power decreases, that this susceptibility may increase.   

Brian Rees 

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Dewolfe, James
Sent: Friday, December 09, 2016 12:46 PM
To: radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu
Subject: [ RadSafe ] Insulin Pumps and X-rays

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
13123 East 16th Avenue, Box B125  |  Aurora, CO 80045

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:  This e-mail, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient and may contain confidential and privileged information.  If you are not an intended recipient, or the person responsible for delivering this message to an intended recipient, you are hereby notified that reading, copying, using or distributing this message is prohibited. If you are not an intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message from your computer system.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to the RadSafe mailing list

Before posting a message to RadSafe be sure to have read and understood the RadSafe rules. These can be found at: http://health.phys.iit.edu/radsaferules.html

For information on how to subscribe or unsubscribe and other settings visit: http://health.phys.iit.edu


More information about the RadSafe mailing list