Abstract
The cumulative radiation exposure to the patient from multiple radiological procedures can place some individuals at significantly increased risk for stochastic effects and tissue reactions. Approaches, such as those in the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Smart Card program, have been developed to track cumulative radiation exposures to individuals. These strategies often rely on the availability of structured dose reports, typically found in the DICOM header. Dosimetry information is currently readily available for many individual x-ray-based procedures. Nuclear medicine, of which nuclear cardiology constitutes the majority of the radiation burden in the US, currently lags behind x-ray-based procedures with respect to reporting of radiation dosimetric information. This article discusses qualitative differences between nuclear medicine and x-ray-based procedures, including differences in the radiation source and measurement of its strength, the impact of biokinetics on dosimetry, and the capability of current scanners to record dosimetry information. These differences create challenges in applying, monitoring, and reporting strategies used in x-ray-based procedures to nuclear medicine, and integrating dosimetry information across modalities. A concerted effort by the medical imaging community, dosimetry specialists, and manufacturers of imaging equipment is required to develop strategies to improve the reporting of radiation dosimetry data in nuclear medicine. Some ideas on how to address this issue are suggested.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
In this article, the term “exposure” is used in a qualitative manner, and the magnitude of exposure is expressed as dose, which is a quantitative term. Also, the term “radiologic” is used for x-ray-based imaging.5
References
Mettler FA, Bhargavan M, Faulkner K, et al. Radiologic and nuclear medicine studies in the United States and worldwide: frequency, radiation dose, and comparison with other radiation sources—1950-2007. Radiology 2009;253:520-31.
National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. Ionizing Radiation Exposure of the Population of the United States: 2006. NCRP report no. 160. Bethesda, MD: National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, 2009.
Fazel R, Krumholz HM, Wang Y, et al. Exposure to low-dose ionizing radiation from medical imaging procedures. N Engl J Med 2009;361:849-57.
Committee to Assess Health Risks from Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing Radiation; Nuclear Radiation Studies Board, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council of the National Academies. Health Risks From Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing Radiation: BEIR VII Phase 2. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2006.
ICRP. The 2007 Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection: ICRP Publication 103. Ann ICRP 2007;37:1-332.
Sodickson A, Baeyens PF, Andriole KP, et al. Recurrent CT, cumulative radiation exposure, and associated radiation-induced cancer risks from CT of adults. Radiology 2009;251:175-84.
Einstein AJ, Weiner SD, Bernheim A, et al. Multiple testing, cumulative radiation dose, and clinical indications in patients undergoing myocardial perfusion imaging. J Am Med Assoc 2010;304:2137-44.
Rehani MM. http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Magazines/Bulletin/Bull502/50205813137.html. Accessed March 13, 2012.
Einstein AJ. Effects of radiation exposure from cardiac imaging: How good are the data? J Am Coll Cardiol 2012;59:553-65.
Rehani MM, Frush DP. Patient exposure tracking: the IAEA Smart Card project. Radiat Prot Dosim 2011. doi:10.1093/rpd/ncr300.
Rehani MM, Frush D, Berris T, Einstein AJ. Patient radiation exposure tracking: worldwide programs and needs—results from the first IAEA survey. Eur J Radiol (submitted).
Rehani MM, Frush DP. Tracking radiation exposure of patients. Lancet 2010;376:754-5.
Joint Position Statement on the IAEA Patient Radiation Exposure Tracking. https://rpop.iaea.org/RPOP/RPoP/Content/News/position-statement-IAEA-exposure-tracking.htm. Accessed May 6, 2012.
Einstein AJ, Knuuti J. Cardiac imaging: does radiation matter? Eur Heart J 2012;33:573-8.
Mettler FA, Huda W, Yoshizumi TT, Mahesh M. Effective doses in radiology and diagnostic nuclear medicine: A catalog. Radiology 2008;248:254-63.
Raff GL, Chinnaiyan KM, Share DA, et al. Radiation dose from cardiac computed tomography before and after implementation of radiation dose-reduction techniques. J Am Med Assoc 2009;301:2340-8.
Rehani MM, Srimachachota S. Skin injuries in interventional procedures. Radiat Prot Dosim. doi:10.1093/rpd/nc0000.
Valentin J. Avoidance of radiation injuries from medical interventional procedures. ICRP Publication 85. Ann ICRP 2001;30(2):1-67.
Einstein AJ, Moser KW, Thompson RC, Cerqueira MD, Henzlova MJ. Radiation dose to patients from cardiac diagnostic imaging. Circulation 2007;116:1290-305.
Gerber TC, Carr JJ, Arai AE, et al. Ionizing radiation in cardiac imaging: a science advisory from the American Heart Association Committee on Cardiac Imaging of the Council on Clinical Cardiology and Committee on Cardiovascular Imaging and Intervention of the Council on Cardiovascular Radiology and Intervention. Circulation 2009;119:1056-65.
Hunter CB. The Internal dosimetry of rubidium-82 based on dynamic PET/CT imaging in humans. Master’s Thesis, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, 2010.
Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE). Radiat Exp Monit. http://wiki.ihe.net/index.php?title=Radiation_Exposure_Monitoring. Accessed March 13, 2012.
Bolch WE, Eckerman KF, Sgouros G, Thomas SR. MIRD Pamphlet No. 21: A generalized schema for radiopharmaceutical dosimetry—standardization of nomenclature. J Nucl Med 2009;50:477-84.
ICRP. Radiation dose to patients from radiopharmaceuticals: ICRP Publication 53. Ann ICRP 1988;18:1-388.
ICRP. Radiation dose to patients from radiopharmaceuticals (addendum 2 to ICRP Publication 53): ICRP Publication 80. Ann ICRP 1998;28:1-123.
ICRP. Radiation dose to patients from radiopharmaceuticals—a third amendment to ICRP Publication 53. ICRP Publication 106. Ann ICRP 2008;38:1-198.
http://www.doseinfo-radar.com/RADARHome.html. Accessed March 13, 2012.
Boone JM, Strauss KJ, Cody DD, et al. Size-specific dose estimates (SSDE) in pediatric and adult body CT examinations. Report of AAPM Task Group 204. College Park, MD: American Association of Physicists in Medicine; 2011.
Acknowledgments
Dr. Einstein was supported in part by National Institute of Health Grant 1R01 HL109711.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mercuri, M., Rehani, M.M. & Einstein, A.J. Tracking patient radiation exposure: Challenges to integrating nuclear medicine with other modalities. J. Nucl. Cardiol. 19, 895–900 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12350-012-9586-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12350-012-9586-x