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    A review of the scientific basis for radiation protection of the patient.
        
        Radiat. Prot. Dosim. 147, 22-29 (2011)
    
    
    
	    The use of ionising radiation in medicine is the single largest man-made source of population exposure. Individual and collective doses to patients arising from the medical use of ionising radiations continue to rise significantly year on year. This is due to the increasing use of medical imaging procedures in modern healthcare systems as well as the continued development of new high dose techniques. This paper reviews the scientific basis for the principles of radiation protection as defined by the International Commission on Radiological Protection. These principles attempt to include exposures arising from both medical and non-medical applications within a common framework and have evolved over many years and changing socio-economic considerations. In particular, the concepts of justification and ALARA (doses should be as low as reasonably achievable), which underpin the principles for medical exposures are assessed in terms of their applicability to the scientific process and relevance to a rapidly changing technologically-led healthcare system. Radiation protection is an integral component of patient safety in medical practices and needs to be evidence based and amenable to the scientific process. The limitations imposed by the existing philosophy of radiation protection to the development of a quantitative framework for adequately assessing the performance of medical imaging systems are highlighted. In particular, medical practitioners will require quantitative guidance as to the risk-benefits arising from modern X-ray imaging methods if they are to make rational judgements as to the applicability of modern high-dose techniques to particular diagnostic and therapeutic tasks. At present such guidance is variable due to the lack of a rational framework for assessing the clinical impact of medical imaging techniques. The possible integration of radiation protection concepts into fundamental bio-medical imaging research activities is discussed.
	
	
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        Publication type
        Article: Journal article
    
 
    
        Document type
        Review
    
 
     
    
    
        Keywords
        radiation protection; patient; medical imaging procedures; individual dose; collective dose; justification; ALARA
    
 
     
    
    
        Language
        english
    
 
    
        Publication Year
        2011
    
 
     
    
        HGF-reported in Year
        2011
    
 
    
    
        ISSN (print) / ISBN
        0144-8420
    
 
    
        e-ISSN
        1742-3406
    
 
    
     
     
	     
	 
	 
    
        Journal
        Radiation Protection Dosimetry
    
 
	
    
        Quellenangaben
        
	    Volume: 147,  
	    Issue: 1-2,  
	    Pages: 22-29 
	    
	    
	
    
 
    
         
        
            Publisher
            Oxford University Press
        
 
        
            Publishing Place
            Oxford
        
 
	
         
         
         
         
         
	
         
         
         
    
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
    
        Reviewing status
        Peer reviewed
    
 
     
    
        POF-Topic(s)
        30504 - Mechanisms of Genetic and Environmental Influences on Health and Disease
    
 
    
        Research field(s)
        Radiation Sciences
    
 
    
        PSP Element(s)
        G-503600-002
    
 
     
     	
    
        PubMed ID
        21846654
    
    
    
        Scopus ID
        81255179654
    
    
        Erfassungsdatum
        2011-11-08