Australians receiving CT scans are being exposed to less radiation per scan than in 2018, according to updated diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) for medical imaging from the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA).
Director of Medical Imaging at ARPANSA, Peter Thomas said Australian National DRLs provided guidance to clinics on the typical radiation doses received by average-sized patients during different types of medical imaging such as CT scans.
“Medical imaging facilities compare the median dose for a sample of their patients to the reference level for each procedure type,” Dr Thomas said.
“This comparison helps ensure radiation exposures are minimised, without sacrificing adequate image quality for effective diagnosis of disease and injury,” he said.
Dr Thomas said the new reference levels showed that the actual doses of radiation being received by patients during scans were lower than the reference levels published in 2018.
“The new reference levels show that typical exposures to patients from CT scans are continuing to reduce as more efficient imaging techniques and technologies are developed and implemented,” he said.
“The typical radiation doses from CT scans remain low.”
Dr Thomas said more information on typical exposure levels for different medical imaging procedures could be found in the current Australian diagnostic reference levels.
ARPANSA’s current Australian DRLs can be accessed at this PS News link.
