Basic Considerations of
Radiation Safety and Barrier Protection

Categories of Radiation in Medicine Today, three broad categories of radiation are used in medicine. The most intense in terms of radiation exposure to the patient is radiation therapy. Radiation therapy involves a tumoricidal dosage that is highly focused on neoplastic tissues in an attempt to cure or control local growth or disease. Patients who undergo radiation therapy typically receive the highest doses of radiation exposure, although all efforts are made to minimize the potential for untoward reactions in the surrounding healthy tissue. A second category, called diagnostic radiology, is used in determining or confirming healthcare disorders such as bone fractures, or other maladies such as pneumonia. To the general public, diagnostic x-rays are a principal source of exposure to potentially carcinogenic man-made ionizing radiations. The last category encompasses the high-dose fluoroscopically guided interventional procedures such as angioplasty and stent replacement. These procedures involve a single dose of low-energy x-rays with limited variation in the direction of applications. Patients undergoing fluoroscopically or fluorographically guided interventional procedures absorb much larger doses from ionizing radiation than patients having diagnostic procedures. Some clinicians believe that the high doses reported in the interventional literature actually under-represent exposure time for many long, complex cases.5

Previous Page | Table of Contents | Next Page