Led by Dr. Hilton Muniz Leão Filho, Latin Safe’s presidente, the SPR Radiation Protection Study Group was held on August 5th. The meeting was attended by Dr. Dany Jasinowodolinski and physicist Lana Taniguti Tanikawa, who presented classes on dose optimization and evaluation, focused on chest CT.

Dr. Dany Jasinowodolinski was the first to present and spoke a little about the history of radiation and how the topic was highlighted around 2001 because of the media. He explained that tomography today still is the method that most worries professionals in the field and presented the differences between the dose parameters, classifying in:

• Exhibition;
• Absorbed;
• Equivalent;
• Effective (dose always thought of medicine).

In addition, he talked about dose optimization methods, with emphasis on low kv in children, FOV, filters, pitch and modulation, raising questions about new algorithms and dose reduction tips:

• Avoid unnecessary exams;
• Seek good quality exams;
• Do not repeat exams;
• Browse radiation options;
• Monitoring.

Physicist Lana Taniguti Tanikawa spoke about the evaluation of exam dosimetry with the DIR platform, part of the national program of the American College of Radiology (ACR). The platform enables the collection and evaluation of exams, providing a panoramic view of how they are being performed (under the dose aspects) and assists in the management of these dose data and even in quality certifications.

About how the platform works, she explained the equipment sends dose reports to a program (provided by ACR) and is then forwarded to an external server. Professionals have access to the online tool that provides analysis according to registration in institutions. Institutions can be registered through the ACR‘s website. 

Finally, one user sent a question about the radiation emission from the microwaves. Practitioners explained that its length is around tens of centimeters, non-ionizing (such as X-rays and UV radiation) and that, keeping a safe distance, there is no proven damage to people.

The next meeting will be on September 2nd, at 5:30 pm GMT. Participate online: http://bit.ly/latinsafe02-09-19