"Step Lightly" - Image Gently Rolls Out Interventional Radiology Program
The American Association for Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) - Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging Offer Free Interventional Radiology Dose Reduction and IR Patient Education Materials
The AAPM is a founding member of the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging, a coalition of 44 health care organizations serving more than 500,000 health care providers world-wide. The Alliance goal is to raise awareness of opportunities to lower radiation dose used in pediatric imaging exams and procedures through its informational “Image Gently” campaign (www.imagegently.org).
We are happy to announce that the Alliance has developed easily accessible online teaching materials and checklists to help interventional radiology providers “Step Lightly” and use the lowest dose necessary to perform interventional procedures on children. Interventional radiologists, medical physicists, and radiologic technologists are encouraged to visit the Image Gently Web site to review these important materials and factor the information into their clinical decision making.
New on the Image Gently Web site are:
- Downloadable slide presentation for use by providers to teach their staff methods to reduce dose and maintain quality. Radiologists are encouraged to give this talk locally.
- Downloadable checklist of dose reduction steps the team can review for each patient.
- Downloadable outline of dose reduction and quality maintenance steps to take in the department.
- Patient brochure including answers for parents about IR procedures. Providers can use this as a guide to communicate concerns and benefits of interventional procedures to patients.
Please download these provider materials from the Image Gently Web site, www.imagegently.org, factor them into your clinical decision making and make the patient brochure available to parents in your waiting rooms and offices. We also invite you to make referring physicians aware of the Image Gently resources and direct them to the Image Gently Web site as appropriate.
Click here to visit the Image Gently Web site today and pledge to do your part to “child-size” the radiation dose used in children’s imaging. Your active participation is appreciated.