Low Dose Radiation

UCSF Radiology is committed to CT scan dose reduction. A new study by UCSF researchers concludes that radiation to patients undergoing CT-guided spinal injections can be decreased significantly without affecting outcome.

While the results of the NLST are encouraging for early lung cancer detection, additional unexpected benefits require supplementary research.

UCSF has launched the Lung Cancer Screening Program, an initiative designed for early cancer detection through low- dose CT.

Efforts to record and cumulate individual patient radiation dose are being advocated by a variety of societies. The problem with this concept is that at present, we do not have a method of individualizing patient dose.

I was recently interviewed for an article, published in The New York Times, about the tendency for some hospitals and imaging centers to perform multiple CT scans on a single patient in one day. Not only is this extra radiation exposure an extremely unsafe practice, but it is also a very costly one for the Medicare system and other insurance companies.

The American College of Radiology (ACR) has launched a CT Dose Index Registry in an effort to broaden patients’ protection from excessive radiation. We’ve taken a proactive stance on the issue.

Our very own blog contributor, Dr. Rebecca Smith-Bindman, has been featured in the latest installment of AuntMinnie’s "Leaders in Imaging" series!

A study I recently co-authored on backscatter x-ray scanners – the radiation-emitting scanners being used in airports across the country – found that the machines pose an extremely low risk for travelers.

The tragedy in Japan resulting from the earthquake and tsunami is difficult to comprehend. It is compounded by the damage to the nuclear power plant, resulting in radiation releases with uncertainty as to how much more radiation will be emitted.

There is now a less invasive alternative to colonoscopy called low dose CT colonography (CTC, also known as virtual colonoscopy) that is equally effective at spotting the growths in the colon that could go on to become cancer.