New York: A smart card project to log how much radiation a person receives in the course of a lifetime is among the latest efforts by the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its partners to ensure better protection of patients from any unnecessary exposure.

Radiation safety experts from the IAEA have lauded advances in imaging technology that enable doctors to detect hidden diseases and make better diagnoses.

At the same time, they caution that overuse of high-tech scanning procedures may unnecessarily expose patients to increased radiation levels.

Of particular concern are procedures such as computed tomography (CT) scans because they deliver higher doses of radiation to patients in comparison to conventional X-rays, according to a news release issued by the agency.

The average radiation dose of one CT scan is estimated to equal roughly 500 chest X-rays.

This can increase a patient's lifetime risk of cancer, especially if CT scans are repeated.

Published reports, including in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggest that up to 50 per cent of all scans done today are questionable on the grounds of medical justification.

"The medical application of ionizing radiation is the fastest growing source of radiation exposure to human beings today," IAEA Radiation Safety and Monitoring Section head Renate Czarwinski said.

"We acknowledge the great value of the new technologies, but want to ensure that each and every examination is justified. The radiation protection of patients is also important," Czarwinski added.

Radiation safety experts are currently working together with manufacturers and information technology specialists to develop a smart card designed to register how much radiation a person receives in the course of a lifetime.

While the IAEA acknowledges this is a very ambitious plan, it notes that the development of X-ray machines that provide the radiation dose delivered in different examinations, as well as advances in electronic medical record systems, should eventually allow for this data to be included in medical records and on the electronic health cards already carried by people in many developed countries.

The agency stressed that hospitals should use the smallest possible doses of radiation without affecting the clinical value of the examination or the procedure, citing evidence that this can reduce the radiation doses by about 20-70 per cent in many situations.

In addition, while scanning times today are much shorter, taking little more than a minute compared to as much as 15 minutes a few years ago, this does not mean that patients are receiving lower doses of radiation, the release stated.

"Today's sophisticated imaging devices deliver more precise information in a shorter period of time but they deliver the same amount of radiation as before, or even more," the agency noted.

The IAEA is a key player in efforts to better protect patients, having established a unit dedicated to the Radiological Protection of Patients (RPoP) in 2001.

"Our objective is that the radiation protection of patients is given increased attention by health professionals, manufacturers, trainers and policy makers," IAEA Radiation Safety Specialist Madan Rehani said.
—iGovernment Bureau