Population exposure

[John Lam <lamhc@hkusua.hku.hk>]

Guessing the following reasons:
1)If patient doses have to be monitored, it will increase the expenses in
the dose monitoring during x-ray, nuclear medicine scanning by using dose
area monitoring systems(not installed in those  old-days equipment), DAP or
Entrance surface dose to be measured. Staff have to work out the dose to
different organs during screening, whole body dose , organ dose, history of
that patient's x-ray dose to be tracked ( 50 years record).Think of the
whole population , who should pay for that? For economic reason, is it
justified?
2) Those working  in the medical (radiation field) they generally have
better or wider knowledge to the harzards of radiation, they have access of
the information or even danger, they care much and so these people have
those priviledges of being more protected! Even money has to be spent, the
amount can have an upper bound. But for patient, you may not estimate the
expenses.
3) for radiotherapy treatment patient, those of the diagnostic doses are
not significant, so no need to quantify the doses.
4) for patient who need to perform diagnostic x-ray scan, usually it is the
physician's decision for medical reason for the justification, dose usually
is not the first-priority in his decision, I think.
The above opinion is only my mere guess.

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