This month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published new x-ray standards for all federal facilities that use diagnostic and interventional X-ray equipment. Developed by the Interagency Steering Committee on Radiation Standards (ISCORS) Work Group, Federal Guidance Report No. 14: Radiation Protection Guidance for Diagnostic and Interventional X-Ray Procedures offers recommendations for keeping patient doses as low as reasonably achievable without compromising the quality of patient care. First issued in 1976, the X-ray standards outlined in Federal Guidance Report No. 9 was due for an update because of two trends in X-ray technology: the rise of digital imaging technology and
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Scientists have developed a new drug candidate, DBIBB, that drastically reduces the death rate in irradiated mice even days after exposure. Led by Gábor Tigyi of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, the team based the drug off of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), “a naturally occurring signalling molecule that seems to give cells a better chance against radiation exposure.” In the study, mice were exposed to 8.5 grays (Gy) of radiation—roughly 2 to 3 times of a potentially lethal dose to humans. Of the untreated mice, 12 of 15 died a month later, whereas of the mice given DBIBB 72 hours after exposure,
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A study on workers from the Mayak Production Association, a nuclear facility that produced plutonium for the Soviet Union, found that the main detrimental health effects of radiation exposure happen more than thirty years after the exposure. At the facility, workers were exposed to low and medium doses at low dose rates. Gender differences in mortality from ischemic heart disease in the Mayak workers were also discovered, with males suffering higher risk than females. Abstract We present an updated analysis of incidence and mortality from atherosclerotic induced ischemic heart diseases in the cohort of workers at the Mayak Production Association (PA).
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As reported in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the House of Representatives recently passed a bipartisan bill that aims to reignite research in low-dose radiation. Driven by the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan, the Low-Dose Radiation Research Act of 2015 tasks the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) with continuing its research program on low-dose radiation—defined by the bill as exposures under 100 millisieverts (mSv)— which has been neglected since its inception in the late ’90s. The bill requires the National Academies to “outline the current status of research, address remaining challenges and scientific goals, and recommend
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Curious which medical procedures use radiation? As a part of their Speak Up™ patient safety initiative, The Joint Commission published an infographic on the different kinds of medical imaging tests available. The chart gives an overview of each test’s process and uses, as well as precautions patients should take. Full Chart Download
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