View clinical trials related to Radiation Safety.
Filter by:Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is a frequently performed test for the diagnosis and/or exclusion of coronary artery disease (CAD) in appropriately selected patients. The performance of non-contrast computed tomography for the detection and quantification of coronary calcification is typically performed prior to CCTA in an effort to identify significant calcification which may influence subsequent data acquisition during the CCTA. However, performance of calcium scoring adds significant radiation and most coronary calcification is proximal in its location, potentially visualized using a focused non-contrast scan. The purpose of this study is to prospectively compare the usefulness of a modified non-contrast CT, using a significantly shorter scan length and lower radiation parameters, as compared to standard coronary artery calcium scanning for the detection of coronary calcification that may influence subsequent CCTA performance.
In recent years, multiple articles have highlighted the increased risk of developing cancer from ionizing radiation. The risk increases with higher radiation doses, and accumulates with repeated scans. Hospitals with computerized physician order entry systems (CPOE) have the unique opportunity to use decision support on radiation safety to influence a physician's ordering practice in real-time. An ideal decision support tool for radiation safety will educate the physician about the dangers of cumulative ionizing radiation, present the patient's image history, and guide the provider to the best modality that meets the patient's diagnostic needs with as little radiation exposure as possible. The design challenge is to create a decision support tool that appropriately protects the investigators patients from overutilization of CAT scans, without inadvertently leading to underutilization of CAT scans or inappropriate utilization of alternative tests. This research protocol proposes to study one such design at a large, academic medical center.