Radiation Exposure News and Research

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Cataracts a risk for pilots and astronauts

According to the results of a new study, airline pilots have a greater risk of developing cataracts because of exposure to cosmic rays while flying.

11 Aug 2005

Airline pilots have an increased risk of nuclear cataracts

Airline pilots have an increased risk of nuclear cataracts [common type of cataract, associated with aging] compared with non-pilots, and that risk is associated with cumulative exposure to cosmic radiation, according to a study in the August issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

10 Aug 2005

Two minor changes in technique could make a major difference in the radiation dose used in survey CT scans

...a new study shows. Survey scans are those that are performed before a regular CT scan, usually to plan for the examination.

9 Aug 2005

Even low dose radiation exposure causes cancer

A new study says that workers in the nuclear industry who are exposed to chronic low doses of radiation have a slightly higher risk of developing cancer.

29 Jun 2005

Low doses of radiation associated with a small excess risk of developing cancer

Low doses of radiation, such as those received in the nuclear industry, are associated with a small excess risk of developing cancer, according to a study published online by the BMJ today.

28 Jun 2005

Routinely reformatting computed tomography (CT) scans to view organs from several different directions may help radiologists improve diagnosis

"You can see things in one view that you might miss in another," said Craig Barnes, M.D., section head of pediatric radiology at Wake Forest Baptist's Brenner Children's Hospital. "It costs no more as relates to scan time or radiation exposure, and we believe it provides added value in diagnosis."

17 May 2005

Tungsten-antimony breast shield reduces radiation dose to the female breast during chest CT by 43% to 73%

A new custom-designed tungsten-antimony breast shield reduces radiation dose to the female breast during chest CT by 43% to 73% without compromising diagnostic image quality, say researchers from the VCU Health System, Medical College of Virginia Hospitals and Physicians, in Richmond.

16 May 2005

Combining PET and CT scans leads to more accurate radiation therapy for lung cancer patients

Using Positron Emission Tomography in addition to Computed Tomography can reduce the amount of radiation exposure to normal tissue in some lung cancer patients

8 Mar 2005

Cardiovascular experts issue blueprint for safer X-Ray imaging

Millions of invasive cardiovascular procedures that involve the use of potentially hazardous X-rays are done in the United States each year.

8 Dec 2004

Ground breaking research in understanding the characteristics of human skin at very high frequencies

Ground breaking research in understanding the characteristics of human skin at millimetric waveband (MMW) frequencies is being conducted at Cranfield University – academic partner to the Royal Military College of Science at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire.

7 Dec 2004

System helps physicians prevent radiation-induced skin injuries to patients

The threading of slender catheters and stents through arteries to deliver treatments to the heart, the brain and elsewhere in the body has produced nothing short of a medical revolution.

4 Dec 2004

Astronaut's eyes may become windows on the bloodstream

Our eyes may become more than windows of the soul if a multidisciplinary team of University of Michigan researchers succeeds with a clever combination of nanoparticles and ultrafast pulsed laser to see individual cells as they zip past in the bloodstream.

29 Nov 2004

Skin cancer rates concern Australian health experts

Victorian Premier Steve Bracks joined The Cancer Council Victoria today to launch the 2004 SunSmart season. Releasing the latest skin cancer rates for Victoria, Professor David Hill, Director of the Cancer Council warned of the human and economic costs to all Victorians if skin cancer rates continue to increase.

30 Sep 2004

Colonoscopy remains the most sensitive test available for detection of colorectal polyps and cancer

A study in today’s issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine reports a miss rate of approximately 10 percent for large (>5mm) precancerous polyps during conventional colonoscopy.

7 Sep 2004

CT scans may be delivering as much radiation as a low-dose atomic bomb

Those full-body CT scans advertised at some health care centers may be delivering as much radiation as a low-dose atomic bomb, according to a new study. And that means people who get them could be raising their cancer risk, researchers from Columbia University report in the journal Radiology (Vol. 232, No. 3:735-738).

5 Sep 2004

Risk of thyroid cancer rises with increasing radiation dose

The risk of thyroid cancer rises with increasing radiation dose, according to the most thorough risk analysis for thyroid cancer to date among people who grew up in the shadow of the 1986 Chernobyl power-plant disaster.

2 Sep 2004

Research provides definitive evidence that radiation risk is associated with full-body CT scans

The risk of cancer mortality from a single full-body computed tomography (CT) scan is modest, but not negligible, and the risks resulting from elective annual scans are much higher, according to a study published in the September issue of the journal Radiology.

31 Aug 2004

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder high among Chernobyl children

In an extensive study of children exposed to varying levels of fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident, Israeli researchers have found that Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) scores are higher among those who were in-utero at the time of the accident -- regardless of their actual level of radiation exposure.

26 Aug 2004

Best approach to removing a diseased thyroid may be from under the arm

The best approach to removing a diseased thyroid, the endocrine gland just under the Adam’s apple that controls the body’s metabolic rate, amazingly may be from under the arm, according to a study published in the August issue of the journal Laryngoscope.

5 Aug 2004

Expansion of Medicare coverage of positron emission tomography to include some Medicare beneficiaries with suspected Alzheimer’s disease

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today that it intends to expand Medicare coverage of positron emission tomography (PET) to include some Medicare beneficiaries with suspected Alzheimer’s disease.

15 Jun 2004