Saturday, June 16, 2012

Is Medical Imaging Harmful to Health



Rebecca Smith-Bindman, MD, professor of radiology at UCSF, explores what is known about radiation from medical imaging.

Video Courtesy of University of California TV.

Women Are More Vulnerable To Ionizing Radiation.

It is far safer to sleep beside a cellsite than it is to work with ionizing radiation.

Electromagnetic energy is carried by photons. The higher the frequency, the higher the energy in each photon. When a certain energy level is reached, the photon has enough energy to knock off electrons from molecules that it encounters. At this point it is called ionizing radiation. The critical energy level is 10 electron volts (eV). One Joule is 6.2x10E18 electron volts, so a single electron volt is immeasurably small. Here's how to calculate the energy of a photon, depending on its frequency:
E=h
h=Planck's constant = 6.626E-34 Joule-seconds
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What you should know before you think of becoming a Radiologic Technologist / Radiographer


A radiologic technologist, also known as medical radiation technologist and as radiographer, performs imaging of the human body for diagnosis or treating medical problems. Radiologic technologists work in hospitals, clinics, Medical laboratories and private practice.

Nature of the work

Radiologic technologists use their expertise and knowledge of patient handling, physics, anatomy, physiology, pathology and radiology to assess patients, develop optimal radiologic techniques or plans and evaluate resulting radio graphic images.
The allied medical professions include many branches such as, respiratory therapist, physical therapist, surgical technologist, nursing and others. The branch of the allied health field known as radiologic technology also has its own sub-specialties. The term radiologic technologist is a general term relating to various sub-specialties within this field. Titles used to describe the nature of the work vary, such as nuclear medicine technologist, radiographer, sonographer, radiation therapist, etc.

Radiologic technology modalities (or specialties):

Diagnostic radiography – deals with examination of internal organs, bones, cavities and foreign objects; includes cardiovascular imaging and interventional radiography.

Sonography – uses high frequency sound and is used in: obstetrics (including fetal monitoring throughout pregnancy), necology, abdominal, pediatrics, cardiac, vascular and musculo-skeletal region imaging.

Fluoroscopy – live motion radiography (constant radiation) usually used to visualize the digestive system; monitor the administration of contrast agents to highlight vessels and organs or to help position devices within the body (such as pacemakers, guidewires, stents etc.)

Computed Tomography – which provides cross-sectional views (slices) of the body; can also reconstruct additional images from those taken to provide more information in either 2 or 3D.

MRI – builds a 2-D or 3-D map of different tissue types within the body.

Nuclear medicine – uses radioactive tracers which can be administered to examine how the body and organs function, for example the kidneys or heart. Certain radioisotopes can also be administered to treat certain cancers such as thyroid cancer.


Radiotherapy - uses radiation to shrink, and sometimes eradicate, cancerous cells/growths in and on the body
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Mammography - use low dose x-ray systems to produce images of the human mammary glands.

As with all other occupations in the medical field, radiologic technologists have rotating shifts that include night duties.

Education

Education slightly vary worldwide mainly because of fairly common references. A high school diploma, passing the entrance requirements and criminal record clearance are mandatory for entry in the radiologic technology program. Formal training programs in radiography range in length that leads to a certificate, an associate or a bachelor's degree. Citing patient safety concerns, international trend now leans towards a bachelor's degree.


The educational curriculum substantially conforms worldwide. Usually, during their formal education, they must learn human anatomy and physiology, general and nuclear physics, mathematics, radiation physics, radiopharmacology, pathology, biology, research, nursing procedures, medical imaging and diagnosis, radiologic instrumentation, emergency medical procedures, medical imaging techniques, computer programming, patient care and management, medical ethics and general chemistry to name a few.

Risks

Radiologic technologists are at great risk from Leukemia and skin cancer as reported by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).


Ionizing radiation can break up the atoms and molecules and can harm your body or organs. During an x-ray, the radiologic technologist may lay a lead shield over the patient to block the radiation from hitting the areas of the body that is not being x-rayed and this is the most common way for the x-ray technologist to lessen the radiation when getting an x-ray done. Even lead, which radiologic technologists use to block some radiation or as markers, is highly toxic and poisonous.


Radiation of sufficiently high energy causes ionization in the medium through which it passes. This includes the Oxygen within the X-Ray department that technologists inhale. Radiation can cause extensive damage to the molecular structure of Oxygen either as a result of the direct transfer of energy to its atoms or molecules or as a result of the secondary electrons released by ionization.
Radiologic Technologists are constantly exposed to various chemical hazards such as sulfur dioxide, glutaraldehyde, and acetic acid. These agents cause asthma.


The effect of MRI after 15 minutes of cell exposure, changes cell morphology, develops branched dendrites featuring synaptic button. Some modifications in the physiological functions of cells were also reported.

Ultrasound deforms biological cells in the acoustic field.

Deadly Pulmonary Tuberculosis, Hepatitis B, Herpes and other infectious diseases are commonly encountered in this profession and the risk of infection is enormous.
Spinal cord injuries from lifting heavy patients are very common.

Stress and Challenges

The health care industry is one of the most stressful places to work on the face of the Earth. It's one of the few places where life and death literally hang in the balance every day. Like many other health care professionals, radiologic technologists in particular endure heavy workloads and massive job-related stress.


Medical imaging has always had its share of challenges. The profession has become especially stressful recently due to the lingering recession, which has brought on record-high unemployment among technologists, hospital closures, the threat of being laid off, and short staffing due to departmental budget cuts.


It is highly recommended to anyone thinking of entering this profession to interview a number of radiologic technologists face to face before getting carried away by promotional videos or juicy presentations by radiologic technology schools which contradicts the overall reality of the situation of those employed in this profession. Most universities do not highlight the occupational risks of this field to lure in unsuspecting students.


In addition, over-government regulation, the pressures of keeping up with the demands of registry bodies and professional organizations for mandatory continuing education plus expensive dues, adds up to the burden of staying in this career that is why thousands of technologists are leaving the profession.

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