Comments on: How much radiation am I getting with my X-ray, CT scan, or nuclear medicine test? http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2009/03/how-much-radiation-am-i-getting-with-my.html Tue, 14 Feb 2012 23:57:00 +0000 hourly 1 By: Hey, Youhttp://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2009/03/how-much-radiation-am-i-getting-with-my.html#comment-90271 Hey, You Sat, 14 Mar 2009 03:10:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2009/03/how-much-radiation-am-i-getting-with-my-x-ray-ct-scan-or-nuclear-medicine-test.html#comment-90271 Interesting. An abdominal CT scan was 20 times more radiation than a mammogram, which was 20 times more radiation than a chest X-ray.<br/><br/>However, that doesn't tell the whole story. Radiation in a mammogram is concentrated over a much smaller area than either the abdominal CT scan or the chest X-ray. That matters. Interesting. An abdominal CT scan was 20 times more radiation than a mammogram, which was 20 times more radiation than a chest X-ray.

However, that doesn’t tell the whole story. Radiation in a mammogram is concentrated over a much smaller area than either the abdominal CT scan or the chest X-ray. That matters.

]]> By: Anonymoushttp://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2009/03/how-much-radiation-am-i-getting-with-my.html#comment-90267 Anonymous Fri, 13 Mar 2009 23:10:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2009/03/how-much-radiation-am-i-getting-with-my-x-ray-ct-scan-or-nuclear-medicine-test.html#comment-90267 These calculators unfortunately aren't giving any real prediction. The risk calculations themselves are based on radiation exposure from atomic bombs, not CTs, so the type of radiation and intensity are quite different. In fact no one knows whether radiation at these intensities is harmful or not. More importantly, not everyone responds to radiation the same way. In the extreme, patients with certain deficiencies in DNA damage responses to radiation develop tumors at a young age with no man-made exposure. Not everyone exposed to the atomic bombs developed cancer either; so it appears likely some individuals are more resistant than others. I don't see that we have enough information on this front to give a person any realistic calculation of their risk. It's a cute game though:) These calculators unfortunately aren’t giving any real prediction. The risk calculations themselves are based on radiation exposure from atomic bombs, not CTs, so the type of radiation and intensity are quite different. In fact no one knows whether radiation at these intensities is harmful or not. More importantly, not everyone responds to radiation the same way. In the extreme, patients with certain deficiencies in DNA damage responses to radiation develop tumors at a young age with no man-made exposure. Not everyone exposed to the atomic bombs developed cancer either; so it appears likely some individuals are more resistant than others. I don’t see that we have enough information on this front to give a person any realistic calculation of their risk. It’s a cute game though:)

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