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Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Research Council. 2012. Tracking Radiation Exposure from Medical Diagnostic Procedures: Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13416.
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1

Introduction

This report provides a summary of the presentations and discussions that took place during the December 8-9, 2011, workshop titled “Tracking Radiation Exposures from Medical Diagnostic Procedures.” The workshop was organized by the Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board of the National Academy of Sciences and was sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. To respond to its statement of task (see Appendix A), the workshop committee brought together public health regulators, physicians, manufacturers, researchers, and patients to explore “why,” “what,” and “how” to track exposure from medical diagnostic procedures and possible next steps. This six-member committee of experts appointed by the National Academy of Sciences prepared the workshop agenda (see Appendix B) and produced this workshop report. (Biographical sketches of the committee members are provided in Appendix C.) The committee met twice over the course of the study: in August 2011 to plan the workshop and in December 2011 to hold the workshop and finalize the workshop report.

This report does not contain findings, conclusions, or recommendations, and it does not represent a consensus of the workshop committee members or workshop participants. Although the workshop committee is responsible for the content of this report, any views contained in the report are not necessarily those of the committee or the National Academy of Sciences.

Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Research Council. 2012. Tracking Radiation Exposure from Medical Diagnostic Procedures: Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13416.
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The report is organized into three chapters:

 

•   Chapter 1 (this chapter) provides an introduction to the workshop.

•   Chapter 2 contains background information intended to provide the context for this study to the reader.

•   Chapter 3 provides the workshop summary.

Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Research Council. 2012. Tracking Radiation Exposure from Medical Diagnostic Procedures: Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13416.
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Page 3
Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Research Council. 2012. Tracking Radiation Exposure from Medical Diagnostic Procedures: Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13416.
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The growing use of medical diagnostic procedures is correlated with tremendous and undeniable benefits in the care of most patients. However, it is accompanied by growing concerns about the risks associated with diagnostic computed tomography and other procedures that utilize ionizing radiation. A number of initiatives in radiation safety in medicine have taken place in the United States and internationally, each serving different purposes. Their ultimate goals are to provide higher quality clinical management of the patient and to ensure that reasonable steps are taken to keep the exposures as low as possible without compromising diagnostic efficacy.

Tracking Radiation Exposure from Medical Diagnostic Procedures: Workshop Reports provides a summary of the presentations and discussions that took place during the December 8-9, 2011, workshop titled "Tracking Radiation Exposure from Medical Diagnostic Procedures." This workshop was organized by the Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board of the National Academy of Sciences and sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This workshop report was authored by a six-member committee of experts appointed by the National Academy of Sciences. This committee brought together public health regulators, physicians, manufacturers, researchers, and patients to explore "why," "what," and "how" to track exposure from medical diagnostic procedures and possible next steps.

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