Digital X-Ray Can Scan Body in 13 Seconds

[Susan L Gawarecki <loc@icx.net>]

Considering the current ALARA atmosphere, wouldn't there be an ethical

issue about X-raying workers every work day, even if it is only 25% of a

"conventional full-body X-ray series"?



--Susan Gawarecki



> Digital X-Ray Can Scan Body in 13 Seconds

> 

> BALTIMORE (AP) - A digital X-ray system once used to search South 

> African miners for stolen diamonds will now allow Baltimore trauma 

> doctors to scan a patient's entire body in 13 seconds.

...

> With the Statscan, a clear image of the entire body pops up on a 

> computer screen in seconds after the scan is completed, allowing 

> quick access to information at a time when diagnosing a patient's 

> injuries is most crucial.

...

> Besides faster and clearer images, the machine, which costs about 

> $400,000, also exposes patients to 75 percent less radiation than a 

> conventional full-body X-ray series, doctors said.

...

> ``This is space-age stuff,'' said Herman Potgieter, who invented the 

> machine in the late 1980s for South African mine owners trying to 

> fight widespread diamond theft by their workers. He developed the 

> system as a safe, fast way to search workers finishing their shifts 

> for hidden or swallowed diamonds.

....

-- 

.....................................................

Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director

Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee

102 Robertsville Road, Suite B, Oak Ridge, TN 37830

Toll free 888-770-3073 ~ www.local-oversight.org

.....................................................



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