Reducing CT radiation should be best practice

Scientists and researchers have developed a way to reduce the dose of radiation administered during a computed tomography (CT) scan.

According to a report in the Journal of American College of Radiology, a team at Gundersen Lutheran Health System, a physician-led health care system in Wisconsin, have developed a comprehensive CT radiation dose reduction programme.

CT scans are vital for the identification of disease and injury, however radiation dose levels are above those associated with X-rays, and although a link to a higher risk of cancer as a result of the radiation is known, the extent of this is not.

"This uncertainty makes it good practice and in the interest of patient safety for medical facilities to reduce radiation dose to the lowest level necessary for accurate diagnosis," explained Mary Ellen Jafari, lead author of the article.

Recently, it was reported that lung cancer deaths have been reduced in the US by 20 per cent thanks to using CT scans rather than chest X-rays, according to the National Lung Screening Trial.