With the prevalence of chronic disease, a growing geriatric population, high patient awareness, and the introduction of advanced medical imaging systems and picture archiving and communication systems (PACS), the medical imaging systems market is expected to grow through 2020, according to market research organization Hexa Research, Inc. An aging population becomes more susceptible to illness—especially chronic diseases, which accounts for the majority of deaths worldwide—and need to be diagnosed and treated with the help of medical imaging. The adoption of PACS, which stores and transfers medical images such as CT scans and X-rays, helps drive the growth of the market
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Fukushima: Japan ends evacuation of Naraha as ‘radiation at safe level’
Recently, radiation levels in the Japanese town of Naraha have fallen to safe levels following decontamination efforts, allowing the town to lift the evacuation order on its 7,400 residents. Naraha was the first municipality to evacuate after the nearby Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant suffered from an earthquake and tsunami that led to a meltdown and contamination. However, only about 100 of the nearly 2,600 households have returned since residents remain cautious about health concerns and lack of infrastructure. To accommodate their concerns, the town is running 24-hour monitoring at a water filtration plant, testing tap water for radioactive materials.
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Radiation Safety at Fukushima Site
After a quarterly progress report from the independent Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) announced that the company has made progress in processing highly contaminated water with only a small amount remaining to be dealt with. TEPCO was also able to seal the vertical shafts in the trenches, which were the source of some of the most significant leaks to the sea. As another measure of improvement, workers now only need to wear full face masks at 10% of the Fukushima Daiichi site because of the reduction in ambient radiation, the progress of general cleanup, and management
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The Importance of Radiation Safety for Healthcare Workers as Well as Patients
Over the years, we have gained better understanding of the uses and dangers of radiation. While radiation has many applications in the hospital, its invisible and odorless nature may sometimes lead healthcare workers to become complacent in handling it safely. There are two main reasons excessive radiation exposure arises in hospitals. The first reason is that healthcare workers who work with radiation have received only basic radiation training. Because they are unfamiliar with radiation safety practices, they do not employ the best risk-reduction techniques. Secondly, we often use far more radiation than necessary. Opting for higher imaging quality, for example,
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