Whereas in the pioneering days of X-ray medicine patients still had to pick up their own exposure cassettes, today patients benefit from a significantly reduced radiation dose with the highest image quality, faster treatment and shorter waiting times. Innovations in medical technology and the use of information technology make a decisive contribution here. The fact that radioactive radiation is highly dangerous to humans is undisputed.
Radiation protection in medicine
However, there is still no consensus on how harmful radiation is to humans from what dosage and in what doses within what time. Nevertheless, because the applied doses of radiation in radiation medicine are usually very small, but still potentially harmful to the patient and the operator, special emphasis is placed on radiation protection.
In principle, the less differentiated tissues are and the more frequently their cells divide, the more sensitive they are to radiation. For the radiation sensitivity of individual tissues, the following approximate order results according to the decrease in their radiosensitivity: embryo – lymphoid organs – bone marrow – intestinal tract – oocytes – spermatozoa – epiphyseal joints – eye lens – peripheral nerves – muscle tissue.
Basic rules for radiation protection
To ensure radiation protection in practice, four basic rules apply:
- Shield the radiation with appropriate materials (e.g., protect the parts of the body that are not exposed to radiation by wearing a lead apron)
- Limit the duration of stay in a radiation field (only as short as necessary; users leave the room, for example),
- Keep a safe distance from the radiation source
- Use the lowest possible activity of a radiation source in each application
Radiation protection measures are also regulated by law. However, the Radiation Protection Ordinance (StrlSchV) is not limited to medical applications, but also regulates the protection of the consumer in numerous other areas where radioactive substances may occur (e.g. food industry).
