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Typical Patient Exposures

• Typical Exams and Exposures
• Nationwide Evaluation of X-Ray Trends (NEXT)
  • Thirty Years of NEXT - November 2006 (PDF, 132.88KB)
• Whole Body CT Screening
• Contact Information

To compare exposure measurements:

• The national average whole-body or background radiation dose to each of us is about 360 millirem per year (200 of that is estimated to come from radon exposure).
• About 54 millirem is the average received from all medical exposures.
• The occupational dose limit to a radiation worker, such as a dental hygienist or assistant, medical X-ray technologist, radiologist, or therapy technologist is 5000 millirem per year.
• The established dose limit to a member of the public from non-medical or dental X-ray sources (such as airport X-ray machines) is 100 millirem per year.
• There is NO LIMIT for exposure to properly prescribed diagnostic and therapeutic sources for a patient. These exposures can be whatever is necessary based on the patient's medical and dental needs.

Typical Exams and Exposures

Below is a list of representative patient exams and the skin entrance exposures associated with them.

• Dental bitewing (3 inch diameter area)
  • 300 millirem -- film
  • 90 millirem -- digital radiography (DR)
  • 140 millirem -- computed radiography (CR)
• Chest X-ray 20 millirem (14 x 17 inch area)
• Abdominal film 300 millirem (14 x 17)
• Lumbar spine 350 millirem (14 x 17)
• Extremity X-ray 30 millirem (8 x 10)
• Skull X-ray 100 millirem (8 x 10)
• Breast (mammogram) 175 millirads (glandular tissue dose)

Nationwide Evaluation of X-Ray Trends

The Nationwide Evaluation of X-Ray Trends (NEXT) program is a partnership of agencies which perform studies to characterize the radiation doses patients receive during diagnostic X-ray examinations.

• Thirty Years of NEXT - November 2006 (PDF, 132.88KB)
• Food and Drug Administration

Contact Information

X-Ray Control Section
P.O. Box 47827
Olympia, WA 98504-7827

Phone 360-236-3231
FAX 360-236-2266

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Washington State Department of Health

Office of Radiation Protection                                       Physical Address:
P.O. Box 47827                                                            111 Israel Road SE, TC2
Olympia, Washington 98504-7827                                  Tumwater, Washington 98501
(360) 236-3300

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Last Update : 08/13/2009 05:13 PM