893
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
→Radiological protection of family members, carers and the public
==Radiological protection of family members, carers and the public==
<br/>
When a patient is exposed to external sources of radiation during [[diagnostic radiology]] or [[radiation therapy]], there is no residual radiation in the patient after the procedure, and they pose no radiation risk to people around them. However, when [[nuclear medicine]] is used for diagnostic radiology or radiation therapy, protection of family members or the others who provide care to the patient, and the protection of the public the patient may come into contact, should be considered (.<ref name="Pub094">[[ICRP Publication 94]] Release of Patients patients after Therapy therapy with Unsealed Radionuclides; [[unsealed radionuclides. Ann. ICRP Publication 105]] Radiological Protection in Medicine34(2), 2004.</ref><ref name="Pub105"/>
For diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures (e.g. bone or myocardial perfusion scans), where the source of radiation is inside the body, radiopharmaceuticals retained in these patients emit radiation but the level of radiation is sufficiently low that these patients do not pose a radiation risk to those around them. These patients are generally discharged immediately after the procedure and instructed that they can carry on their normal daily activities.
