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The good Subjects: Breast Imaging , Mammogram. Radiation is always a concern when people need some type of medical imaging. The same holds true with mammography and can lead to questions since this important screening is recommended every year for women over Patients often ask if mammograms are safe and how they can evaluate the amount of radiation they will receive during this procedure. Today, modern mammography equipment produces high quality breast images with low doses of radiation.
Using a standard measure of radiation dose, milliSievert mSv , the total dose for a screening mammogram is about 0.
To put that number in perspective, people in the US are typically exposed to an average of about 3 mSv of radiation each year from background sources such as natural surroundings. The radiation dose a woman receives with a screening mammogram is about equal to the dose received over seven weeks from natural surroundings or background radiation.
Common sources of background radiation are radioactive minerals in the ground and cosmic radiation arriving from space. For comparison purposes, the radiation dose from a mammogram is a little more than from a chest x-ray, but less than the exposure from the radon present in the average home or the relative annual increase in cosmic radiation exposure from living in a high altitude city like Denver. It is much less than the dose delivered during a barium x-ray study of the abdomen or a CT scan.
The largest source of background radiation comes from radon gas in our homes about 2 mSv per year. Like other sources of background radiation, the amount of radon exposure varies widely depending on where you live. To put it simply, the amount of radiation from one adult chest x-ray 0. Here are some approximate comparisons of background radiation and effective radiation dose in adults for several radiology procedures described on this website.
These values can vary greatly, depending on the size of the patient and the type of imaging technology being used.
Manufacturers of imaging technology continue to make improvements towards reducing radiation exposure while maintaining image quality.
Note for pediatric patients : Pediatric patients vary in size. Doses given to pediatric patients will vary significantly from those given to adults. Please note that this chart attempts to simplify a very complex topic. The actual dose can vary substantially, depending on a person's size, the reason for imaging, and differences in imaging practices. The International Commission on Radiological Protection ICRP Report states: "The use of effective dose for assessing the exposure of patients has severe limitations that must be considered when quantifying medical exposure," and "The assessment and interpretation of effective dose from medical exposure of patients is very problematic when organs and tissues receive only partial exposure or a very heterogeneous exposure which is the case especially with x-ray diagnostics.
It can vary based on a person's height and weight, how the procedure is performed, and the body area being exposed to radiation. The risk associated with medical imaging procedures refers to possible long-term or short-term side effects. Most imaging procedures have a relatively low risk.
This means they make every effort to decrease radiation risk. It is important to remember that a person is at risk if the doctor cannot accurately diagnose an illness or injury. Therefore, it could be said that the benefit from medical imaging, which is an accurate diagnosis, is greater than the small risk that comes with using it. Talk to your doctor or radiologist about any concerns you may have about the risks of a given procedure.
A computer then puts the images together into a series of thin slices. This allows doctors to see the breast tissues more clearly in three dimensions. A standard two-dimensional [2D] mammogram can be taken at the same time, or it can be reconstructed from the 3D mammogram images.
Many studies have found that 3D mammography appears to lower the chance of being called back for follow-up testing.
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