Posted on 12/08/2009 1:10:07 PM PST by La Enchiladita
BURBANK - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has widened its investigation into radiation overdoses that patients have received from a type of brain scan, suggesting the problem may be nationwide, it was reported Tuesday. The agency says it is looking into possible overdoses at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank and a hospital in Alabama, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Providence St. Joseph is now the third hospital in Los Angeles County under investigation for problems with CT brain perfusion scans, a procedure used most often to diagnose strokes.
Unlike the other cases, which involved scanners made by General Electric, the scanner at Providence St. Joseph was made by Toshiba -- adding a new dimension to the investigation, The Times reported.
Angelo Bellomo, head of environmental health for the L.A. County Department of Public Health, said 34 patients appear to have received excessive radiation at Providence St. Joseph over a 20-month period ending in October, The Times reported.
The problem was discovered by Los Angeles County radiation safety inspectors and reported to the FDA last week, FDA and county officials told the newspaper.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailynews.com ...
Throwing the BS flag here. Come on FReepers, look at the lack of info here.
What dose is considered ‘normal’ for the procedure? That is the biggest question as well as the most glaring omission.
Without that info, one can make no determination of whether or not this is REALLY a problem or just a ‘scare’ to an uninformed public.
I guess science isn’t your thing, because there is plenty of information here, in previous articles posted on FR and on the internet... just a click away.
Answer the question, what was the dose given? 10 mRem? 100? 1000? what was the dose? Kind of a simple question, yet it seems to elude you.
No, that info not given in the article.
Colonoscopies....Mammograms....CT Scans....just pure coincidence, I’m sure....nothing to see here, move along....
Actually, REM is exposure.
Rad (or 0.01 Gy) would be dose,
though even if it was given, would
it have been specified as maximum, average,
or minimum?
Rad is indeed dose, measured in ergs per gram of material doing the absorbing. But that is not usable as the different types of radiation impart differing amounts of energy. Hence, what we care about in Humans is rem - Roentgen Equivalent Man.
So, an ignorant public speaks of ‘dose’. And we quibble over something that is beyond most.
The point remains - WHAT was the dose? Or exposure, if you so desire.
If the ‘normal’ exposure or dose (pick your poison) is 10 mR (or mRem) and the patients received 80, I say BIG WHOOP DEE DOO. No harm or foul there.
Without that number the whole exercise is based on the ‘fear factor’.
If you understood radiation safety better, FRiend,
you would understand that a technician running a CT
machine (what this thread is about) can control
the dose (a physical number), but cannot control
the exposure (a biological effect number dependent
upon what is irradiated).
And rad is the dose delivered (measured at a specific
point, like the midplane).
Rad (dose delivered) is the correct parameter.
ANd you should realize why there is a separate unit (Rem vs Rad) and what their relationship is(Rad x Qualtiy Factor=Rem)and that for gamma or xray radiation, the default QF = 1. So, for what we are talking about Rad=Rem.
In radiation safety, when speaking of exposure, ALL that matters is ‘what damage is done’. Biological damge. Why? Because different types of radiation do different amounts of damage per unit of dose. 1 Rad of gamma does not equate to the same damage as 1 Rad of alpha or neutron.
If I receive a dose of 20 Rad of neutron, my exposure, my ‘damage’ is 200-400 Rem (QF = 10-20 for neutron, depending on thermal vs fast).
If I receive a dose of 20 Rad of gamma, my exposure, my damage is 20 Rem. (QF = 1 for gamma)
400 Rem is a life threatening exposure. 20 Rem is not.
Hence, in radiation safety (Nuclear power oriented) Rem is VERY important and Rad is never used in relation to personnel dose.
And that is why in cases like this, where gamma or xray radiation is the issue, that Rad and Rem can be used interchangably, because the QF = 1.
In any case, it is biological damage that is the issue. And the unit that equates dose (Rad) to biological damge is the Rem.
So, still, while we quibble over Rad vs Rem, there was still no revelation as to the magnitude of the ‘over-exposure’ received by these patients. It is telling that the article does not give that and THAT was my point, just another fear-mongering article about the ‘dangers’ of radiation.
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