Patient Safety in Medical Imaging: a joint paper of the European Society of Radiology (ESR) and the European Federation of Radiographer Societies (EFRS)

Abstract

The fundamental professional roles of radiographers and radiologists are focused on providing benefit to patients with our skills, while maintaining their safety at all times. There are numerous patient safety issues in radiology which must be considered. These encompass: protection from direct harm arising from the techniques and technologies we use; ensuring physical and psychological well-being of patients while under our care; maintaining the highest possible quality of service provision; and protecting the staff to ensure they can deliver safe services. This paper summarises the key categories of safety issues in the provision of radiology services, from the joint perspectives of radiographers and radiologists, and provides references for further reading in all major relevant areas. This is a joint statement of the European Society of Radiology (ESR) and the European Federation of Radiographer Societies (EFRS), published simultaneously in Insights into Imaging [DOI:10.1186/s13244-019-0721-y] and Radiography (DOI: 10.1016/j.radi.2019.01.009).

Knowledge of radiation protection among radiology professionals and students: A medical college-based study

“…Thus, sensible and optimized use of radiation is of utmost importance [9]. Optimization of radiation in medical imaging is achieved through the collective effort of the referring physician, radiologist, radiologic technologist/radiographer, other staffs who are directly or indirectly involved in the imaging technique and the patient himself [10]. Referring physician should always ensure that the use of ionizing radiation is justified i.e.…”

“…It is also the duty of radiologist and radiographers to check whether the examination is obligatory [12]. Since they are formally educated, they are supposed to have thorough knowledge on safety measures and optimization techniques [10]. It is their responsibility to spread awareness regarding wise use of radiation not only among other staffs in radiology department but also among the patients and the public [10].…”

“…Since they are formally educated, they are supposed to have thorough knowledge on safety measures and optimization techniques [10]. It is their responsibility to spread awareness regarding wise use of radiation not only among other staffs in radiology department but also among the patients and the public [10]. Therefore, radiation awareness is a must to ensure rational use of ionizing radiation in medicine [13].…”

Cancer Diagnosis through SERS and Other Related Techniques

“…Classical techniques for cancer diagnosis comprise anatomic imaging tools like X-ray imaging and computerized tomography scan (CT) or positron emission tomography (PET) for physiological and metabolic information, respectively [4]. The disadvantages of the above-mentioned techniques are the submission of the patient's body to ionizing radiation [5]. Those that do not belong to radiological tests, like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) [6] must be used under heavy magnetic fields during the exploration, which is incompatible with patients using pacemakers or metal implants.…”

“…3 KLK2: Kallikrein 2. 4 HPDE: Human pancreatic ductal epithelial cells 5. AFT: Alpha-Fetoprotein Tumor 6.…”