In January 2008, the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging launched the Image Gently campaign, to bring attention to the opportunities for medical imaging professionals to lower or optimize the radiation dose when performing imaging studies on children.
This month, the campaign is introducing new materials to educate parents about medical imaging.
The first item is an imaging record card — parents are encouraged to use this record as they do the widely-used vaccination record. It will allow parents to keep track of pertinent information related to their child’s exams — where and when the study was performed as well as the type of exam. Tracking the number of radiologic studies children have received helps inform treating physicians of recent similar exams, helping to decide if an exam is truly necessary.
Also created were two pamphlets which explain the various imaging exams with a focus on CT scans and radiation safety. Potential risks involved with imaging are discussed as well as estimated effective doses. These tools are available now to download from the Image Gently Web site (www.imagegently.org).
We encourage you to make these available in your patient waiting areas and offices, and inform the parents of your pediatric patients that these resources have been created for them.
Additionally, information brochures are now also available on the American Academy of Pediatrics Web site for parents and pediatricians.
If you haven’t done so already, please take the Image Gently pledge to show your commitment to “child-sizing” the radiation dose used in children’s imaging.
I would also be interested in knowing:
- Do you typically get questions from parents regarding radiation dose used in pediatric imaging?
- Do you think these materials will help you answer them?
- What do you typically say to patients with questions regarding dose?
I look forward to your feedback.
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