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Medical physicists' implication in radiological diagnostic procedures: results after 1 y of experience

Ryckx, Nick ; Gnesin, Silvano ; Meuli, Reto ; Elandoy, Christel ; Verdun, Francis R.

In: Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 2015, vol. 164, no. 1-2, p. 120-125

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    Title
    • Medical physicists' implication in radiological diagnostic procedures: results after 1 y of experience
    Author
    • Ryckx, Nick. Lausanne University Hospital, Institute of Radiation Physics, Rue du Grand-Pré 1, Lausanne CH-1007, Switzerland
    • Gnesin, Silvano. Lausanne University Hospital, Institute of Radiation Physics, Rue du Grand-Pré 1, Lausanne CH-1007, Switzerland
    • Meuli, Reto. Lausanne University Hospital, Institute of Radiation Physics, Rue du Grand-Pré 1, Lausanne CH-1007, Switzerland
    • Elandoy, Christel. Lausanne University Hospital, Institute of Radiation Physics, Rue du Grand-Pré 1, Lausanne CH-1007, Switzerland
    • Verdun, Francis R.. Lausanne University Hospital, Institute of Radiation Physics, Rue du Grand-Pré 1, Lausanne CH-1007, Switzerland
    Document Type
    • Postprint
    Language
    • English
    Published in
    • Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 2015, vol. 164, no. 1-2, p. 120-125. Oxford University Press
    Other Version
    Classification
    • Health
    OAI-PMH Identifier
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:298360
    Summary
    Since January 2008—de facto 2012—medical physics experts (MPEs) are, by law, to be involved in the optimisation process of radiological diagnostic procedures in Switzerland. Computed tomography, fluoroscopy and nuclear medicine imaging units have been assessed for patient exposure and image quality. Large spreads in clinical practice have been observed. For example, the number of scans per abdominal CT examination went from 1 to 9. Fluoroscopy units showed, for the same device settings, dose rate variations up to a factor of 3 to 7. Quantitative image quality for positron emission tomography (PET)/CT examinations varied significantly depending on the local image reconstruction algorithms. Future work will be focused on promoting team cooperation between MPEs, radiologists and radiographers and on implementing task-oriented objective image quality indicators