Need help with my writing homework on Assessment of the Compliance of Radiation Dosage Guidelines for Computed Tomography. Write a 2750 word paper answering; It is estimated that in the developed world at the current use of CT every year twenty percent of the population go through at least one CT diagnostic evaluation for some purpose or the other. This suggests that every member of the population of the developed world will undergo at least one CT diagnostic evaluation once in five years (Coursey & Frush, 2008).
CT essentially uses x-rays for the creation of the diagnostic images. However, the radiation and its distribution with CT are markedly different from conventional X-ray imaging and this weighs heavily on the quantum of radiation that an individual is exposed to during CT imaging (Bushberg et al, 2002). Radiation dosage is a significant factor in the possibility of radiation-induced malignancies or radiogenic cancers. The accepted thumb rule according to Hofer, 2007, p.174 is “the lower the individual dose and the longer the interval between several radiation exposures, the lower the risk of a subsequently induced neoplasm”.
Evaluation of the type of radiology examinations performed on an overall basis suggests that CT comprises between 11-13 percent of all radiology examinations. However, CT has been found to be responsible for in excess of two-thirds of the total radiation dose associated with its use in medical imaging. It is estimated that the risk for cancer in the developed world has ridden from 0.4% to 2.0% with the dramatic surge CT being employed for medical imaging. Radiation dosage associated with the use of CT in medical imaging has thus become a matter of concern both within the field of health care and outside it (Hara et al, 2009).
When CT became available as an imaging technology it was accepted that the use of CT involved a relatively high radiation dose technique. There was however clinical justification is the use of CT. It was used for quality imaging of the brain, which was unsurpassed .by any other available imaging technique and on patients with malignant disease, where concern for radiation dose was not concerned relevant.
