The effort is part of a larger movement called the Image Gently campaign, which is aimed at reducing the levels of radiation that children are exposed to when they undergo radiological imaging.

The campaign—an initiative of the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging—promotes increased knowledge by doctors, technicians and parents about how to reduce radiation exposure in kids.

It supports the use of alternative methods of medical imaging, such as ultrasounds and other radiation-free tests, whenever possible.

And when radiation must be used, the campaign promotes using a “child-size” dose to prevent too much exposure.

Dr. Christopher Meyer, a radiologist with Radiologic Associates of Fredericksburg, is the physician coordinator of the Image Gently campaign for Mary Washington Healthcare.

Meyer said radiologists must find a balance between getting the clearest images possible and exposing patients to the least possible amount of radiation.

Increasing the amount of radiation can create a clearer picture from an X–ray or other imaging test, enhancing the ability to make a diagnosis.

Dropping the level can better protect patients—but at the risk of getting a less-clear image that’s harder to interpret, and that could cause important findings to be missed.

“The key is to decrease the radiation dose enough so that you’re not over-radiating a patient, but at the same time you’re still generating high-quality images,” Meyer said. “That’s sort of the impetus behind the Image Gently campaign.”

PROTECTIVE PROTOCOLS

The amount of radiation needed to create a CT scan of a young child is much lower than the amount necessary to create one of a 300-pound adult, Meyer said.

Armed with that kind of knowledge, local radiologists follow “age- and weight-based CT protocols which help us predetermine the range of radiation dose prior to scanning the patient,” Meyer said.

The Image Gently campaign provides advice on establishing protocols based on medical research. Meyer’s group has adopted protocols that its radiologists use in outpatient imaging centers as well as at Mary Washington Hospital and Stafford Hospital.

“These are imaging protocols that are performed in a lot of well-known pediatric hospitals around the country,” Meyer said.