Volume 44, Number 3
May 2014
Letter from the Editors
I
t has been 6 years since the editors have devoted an issue of Seminars to the subject of radiation dosimetry and exposure risk.1 At that time, one of our current guest editors, Dr Michael Stabin teamed with his Vanderbilt colleague, Dr Randy Brill, to present a current status report appropriate for that time. Since then, there has been considerable interest and concern about the ever-increasing use of all radiologic procedures, including radionuclide studies. Many articles have appeared in both the medical and lay media that have dealt with this realistic concern. A recent editorial in the New York Times written by 2 West Coast physicians was frighteningly titled “We Are Giving Ourselves Cancer.”2 The primary culprit identified was CT. An increasing responsibility for controlling the excess use of these imaging studies has appropriately rested in the hands of the radiologist and nuclear medicine physician. As we noted in our opening letter in the September 2008 issue, “it is the responsibility of the imaging physician to educate our referring physicians.”1 Since then, the American College of Radiology has initiated a national “Image Wisely” campaign to lower
http://dx.doi.org/10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2014.03.001 0001-2998/& 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
patient radiation doses. In the following articles, Drs Fahey and Stabin and their colleagues focus on these issues and explore ways of achieving lower radiation exposure without sacrificing diagnostic yield of information. The even greater importance of these principles is in children as discussed in Dr Treves article, describing the Pediatric “Image Gently” campaign endorsed by many organizations as well. The editors are grateful to Drs Fahey and Stabin for assembling a superb group of their colleagues to present a truly state-of-the-art discussion of these most important issues. Leonard M. Freeman, MD M. Donald Blaufox, MD, PhD
References 1. Semin Nucl Med 38, 2008 (5) 2. Redberg RF, Smith-Bindman R: We Are Giving Ourselves Cancer. New York Times, OP-Ed, January 31, 2014
159
May 2014
Letter from the Editors
I
t has been 6 years since the editors have devoted an issue of Seminars to the subject of radiation dosimetry and exposure risk.1 At that time, one of our current guest editors, Dr Michael Stabin teamed with his Vanderbilt colleague, Dr Randy Brill, to present a current status report appropriate for that time. Since then, there has been considerable interest and concern about the ever-increasing use of all radiologic procedures, including radionuclide studies. Many articles have appeared in both the medical and lay media that have dealt with this realistic concern. A recent editorial in the New York Times written by 2 West Coast physicians was frighteningly titled “We Are Giving Ourselves Cancer.”2 The primary culprit identified was CT. An increasing responsibility for controlling the excess use of these imaging studies has appropriately rested in the hands of the radiologist and nuclear medicine physician. As we noted in our opening letter in the September 2008 issue, “it is the responsibility of the imaging physician to educate our referring physicians.”1 Since then, the American College of Radiology has initiated a national “Image Wisely” campaign to lower
http://dx.doi.org/10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2014.03.001 0001-2998/& 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
patient radiation doses. In the following articles, Drs Fahey and Stabin and their colleagues focus on these issues and explore ways of achieving lower radiation exposure without sacrificing diagnostic yield of information. The even greater importance of these principles is in children as discussed in Dr Treves article, describing the Pediatric “Image Gently” campaign endorsed by many organizations as well. The editors are grateful to Drs Fahey and Stabin for assembling a superb group of their colleagues to present a truly state-of-the-art discussion of these most important issues. Leonard M. Freeman, MD M. Donald Blaufox, MD, PhD
References 1. Semin Nucl Med 38, 2008 (5) 2. Redberg RF, Smith-Bindman R: We Are Giving Ourselves Cancer. New York Times, OP-Ed, January 31, 2014
159
