Ch. 1 Intro to Rad Protection

radionuclide

An unstable nucleus that emits one or more forms of ionizing radiation to achieve greater stability.

organic damage

changes in blood count

alpha particle

contains two protons and two neutrons

The degree to which the diagnostic study accurately reveals the presence or absence of disease in the patient, defines what?

diagnostic efficacy

What word describes the overall risk of exposure?

effective dose

radiation

energy that passes from one location to another and can have many manifestations

sievert (Sv)

SI unit of measure for the EqD.

What is BERT?

(background equivalent to radiation time) comparison of the amount of radiation received by the patient for a procedure with natural background radiation Example: A chest x-ray is equivalent to 10 days of natural radiation.

An effective radiation safety program requires a firm commitment to radiation safety by:

1. facilities providing imaging services 2. radiation workers

A patient may elect to assume the relatively small risk of exposure to ionizing radiation to obtain essential diagnostic medical information when:

1. illness occurs 2. injury occurs 3. a specific imaging procedure for health screening purposes is prudent

What was the total average annual effective dose from manmade and natural radiation as of 1987?

3.6 mSv (360 mrem) per year

An equivalent dose as low as 0.25 Sv (25 rem) delivered to the whole body may cause what within a few days?

A decrease in the number of lymphocytes in the circulating blood

To make patients feel more at ease, we use...

BERT

What is a method that can be used to answer patient questions about the amount of radiation received from a radiographic procedure?

BERT

genetic damage

Biologic effects of ionizing radiation or other agents on generations yet unborn

biologic effects

Damage to living tissue of animals and human beings exposed to radiation.

electromagnetic wave

Electric and magnetic fields that fluctuate rapidly as they travel through space, including radio waves, microwaves, visible light, and x-rays.

cellular damage

Injury on the cellular level caused by sufficient exposure to ionizing radiation at the molecular level.

Synonym for ALARA

ORP- optimization for rad. protection

ionizing radiation

Produces positively and negatively charged particles (ions) when passing through matter

fallout

Radiation produced as a consequence of nuclear weapons testing and chemical explosions in nuclear power plants.

natural background radiation

Terrestrial- radioactive materials in the crust of the earth Cosmic- solar from the sun, and galactic beyond the solar system Internal- from radionuclides in the body tissue -when increased because of human actions, it is termed 'enhanced natural sources'

radon

causes 55% of human exposure to natural background radiation

rem

Traditional unit of measure for the EqD.

ALARA

as low as reasonably achievable

occupational and nonoccupational doses

expressed as EfD

electromagnetic spectrum

full range of frequencies and wavelengths of electromagnetic waves

What is recognized as the MAIN adverse health effect rom the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power accident?

increase in the incidence of thyroid cancer in children and adolescents

manmade/ artificial radiation

made by humans -consumer products, air travel,medical, nuclear as of 198, manmade contributed to 0.65mSv (65 mrem) to the average annual radiation exposure of U.S.

On what levels, does ionizing radiation produce electrically charged particles that cause biological damage?

molecular, cellular, and organic

Radon is in what category?

natural radiation

biologic damage

produced while radiation penetrates body tissues primarily by ejecting electrons from the atoms composing the tissue

Effective measures employed by radiation workers to safeguard patients, personnel, and the general public from unnecessary exposure to ionizing radiation defines:

radiation protection

equivalent dose (EqD)

radiation quantity used for radiation protection purposes when a person receives exposure from various types of ionizing radiation attempts to numerically specify the differences in biologic harm that are produced by different types of radiation enables the calculation of EfD

What are natural sources of ionizing radiation?

radioactive elements in the crust of the earth and in the human body

ionization

removal of electron foundation of the interactions of x-rays with human tissue

effective dose (EfD)

takes into account the dose for all types of ionizing radiation to irritated organs or tissues in the human body uses weighting factors for each body part to account the chance of each of these body parts for developing radiation-induced cancer (or genetic damage in reproductive organs)

Who is responsible to reduce rad dose and minimize exposure time?

the rad tech

Ionizing radiation is both beneficial and destructive. True/ False

true