Did you read that CT scans put ADULTS & CHILDREN AT RISK I read that on a UPRIGHT_MRI search?

Actually there is a new type of CT that reduces the risk by 80 percent eventually these will replace the older models.

A new scanner has been unveiled which can produce 3D body images of unprecedented clarity while reducing radiation by as much as 80%. Monday, 26 November 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/711268...

Any radiology test exposes people to small doses of radiation. That's why it's called RADIOLOGY. However, unless you're getting a ct scan or xray a day, you're safe.

Of course, it exposes us to ionizing radiation...just like an x-ray . But just like an x-ray, as long as you aren't having them done very often, the risk to health is extremely low to nothing.

I'm not sure what you saying they put us at risk for.... I do know that unless you get alot of them on a regular basis you should be safe. CT's give us more benefits than risks... after all, it helped diagnose me.

All imaging studies and image guided procedures were invented by radiologists. Originally, it involved only X-rays. Current imaging modalities, however, have evolved, and not all of them utilize ionizing radiation (the kind of radiation you're concerned about).

X-rays, fluoroscopic procedures (e.g. cardiac catheterization), and CT scans all use ionizing radiation and can cause problems when over-utilized.

The recent studies talking about too much radiation stem largely from over-use of these imaging studies. The reasons for that over-use are many.

1) Non-radiologist clinicians have an "in office loophole" for the Stark self-referral laws by which they can have an X-ray machine (or CT or Ultrasound or MRI, etc.) in their office, can order the test, and can get paid for doing the test. This is called self-referral, and it's been shown that clinicians who can self-refer order more tests (because they get paid more to do it). They sell it to you as being convenient "one-stop shopping" where you can get all your tests done in one office. That's not a good thing, though.

2) Frivolous lawsuits case doctors to practice defensive medicine, and one way to practice defensive medicine is to order as many tests as possible so that you don't miss that one in a million weird diagnosis. The problem is, a lot of tests are unnecessarily done in an effort to not miss the rare, devastating disease. Basically, the more tests a doctor orders, the less he is likely to miss. The problem is that the tests are not without risks, as you mentioned.

3) Every area of society has become increasingly dependent on technology. The physical exam is not as well taught as it was 50 years ago because now you can get a CT scan and find out what's wrong in seconds. The only trouble with this is that sometimes imaging studies are ordered by clinicians before they've even seen the patient. It's like the chest X-ray has replaced the stethoscope.

4) Non-radiologists are not trained in radiobiology and physics, so they are less familiar with the ill effects of ionizing radiation. Imaging studies and image guided procedures are profitable, so non-radiologists quickly compete to get a piece of that financial pie--even though they're not board certified radiologists. A simple example is cardiac catheterization, which was invented by radiologists but is now often performed by cardiologists. The person doing the procedure directly controls how much radiation the patient gets by various methods, and only a highly trained person with experience in radiobiology and physics should be at the helm for the reasons you mentioned. Radiologists must pass a physics & radiobiology board examination before they can practice. Cardiologists, for example, do not have to take that same test, yet are responsible for high doses of radiation.

There are other reasons, but I won't get into them here.

MRI and ultrasound use radiation, too, but not ionizing radiation. MRI uses electromagnetic and radiofrequency radiation, and ultrasound uses ultrasonic radiation. These are not associated with the same adverse effects of ionizing radiation.

Ionizing radiation has the ability to cause double stranded breaks in your DNA and free radical damage, both of which can lead to mutations. The random, stochastic effects of ionizing radiation can lead to cancer since it only takes one mutation to start a cancer. The more ionizing radiation you get, the higher your chances of getting various types of cancer.

Most radiation induced cancers have a long latent period, meaning if you get a high dose of radiation at time X, it will be many years (even decades) later that your cancer will arise. Exceptions to this include leukemia, which has a latent period of less than 10 years.

Radiologists assess risk of radiation and try to limit the number of tests a person gets. That is part of their job. Clinicians, however, are not trained in radiobiology and physics, so they are less aware of the effects of radiation. They just want the diagnosis to expedite treatment of the patient, so they order more tests. Therein lies the rub.

There are evolving techniques that reduce ionizing radiation exposure, such as pulsed fluoroscopy and EKG-gated tube current modulation in CT. Others are on the horizon.

Yup, a single CT scan, which is really a series of x-rays with a total exposure that 10 to 20 higher than other x-rays, raises your risk of cancer.

I did a calculation comparing it to the risk of smoking cigarettes. The risk of a single CT scan is the equivalent of smoking 500 packs of cigarettes.

A LIFETIME of smoking causes about 30% of the cancer deaths in the US. CT scans are projected to cause 2% of the cancer deaths.

The best to you.

Kelley

i did read that article, and you know what! Ive come to the conclusion that everything we eat, everything that we drink, everything that we do is going to cause cancer. i have cancer and its just amazing how much crap is being written and told to us about causing cancer. you know, we are already scared, why don't they just do the research and find out what is actually gowning on and find a cure for it. Instead they are grasping at straws, and not really doing one thing for the cure of cancer. in my opinion i feel as if everyone has cancer cells laying dormant in their body and something just starts them to mutate. My oncologist requires that i have ct scans every 3 months. I guess the cancer is there so what the heck! not
trying to be difficult, but they cant even find a cure for the common cold.