Antinuclear

Radiation-caused cancer a risk in Australia’s CT scans

Radiation too high in CT scans, says study The Age, MARK METHERELL, April 8, 2010 AUSTRALIAN CT scans have been found to generate up to a third more radiation than necessary to yield a clear diagnostic image, needlessly exposing patients to an increased risk of cancer.

The findings have emerged amid concerns about the growth in referrals for CT scans and as radiation safety experts and radiologists prepare a national monitoring scheme to keep radiation doses to the minimum necessary…..

Medical radiation is estimated to trigger about 400 cancers a year in Australia. The use of CT (computed tomography) scans is growing at 9 per cent to 12 per cent a year in Australia.

The Medicare watchdog, Dr Tony Webber, recently said he was ”alarmed” by the rate of unjustified referrals of patients for CT scans……The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists has urged the government to relax Medicare restrictions on the referral of patients for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, which do not use radiation and can produce a better diagnostic result.

Radiation too high in CT scans, says study

April 8, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, health | antinuclear, Australia, radioactive, renewable