“Dose Creep” was ranked 7th out of the Top 10 Health Hazards for 2015. This is an unnoticed variation in diagnostic radiation exposure.1 This is a concern on potential sources of danger to patients and also health care professionals–warrant the greatest attention for the coming years.
We have seen significant advances in radiation emitting technology worldwide over the last 2 decades with reduced radiation dose scanners, iterative reconstruction image techniques and newer technologies that automate radiation dose reduction. However, with all these advances we still have not progressed as much as technology, with significant variation in national diagnostic reference levels that are above the recommended thresholds set
by national and international radiation monitoring bodies.2
At Guerbet we recognise this safety hazard and have added to our solutions portfolio Dose&Care®. Dose&Care® is also known as DACS (Dose Archiving Communication System) which is designed to collect, control, analyse and optimise doses delivered to patients during medical imaging, interventional radiology, and cardiology examinations.
Dose&Care® is a medical device intended for use by medical professionals responsible and involved in the dose cycle: Radiologists, Interventional Radiologists and Radiographers, Technologists, Heads of Department, Medical Physicists, Surgeons, Cardiologists, and Interventional Vascular Surgeons.
The application can be connected to the central informatics environment (including, for example: PACS, RIS, HIS), imaging devices, and accessories (CT scanners, X-ray tables, image intensifiers, interventional tables, PET-CT and so on) using DICOM and HL7 communication standards.
Dose&Care® centralises the data to provide a history of the X-ray dose for each patient and displays it graphically and numerically, in the form of effective dose DLP, CTDI, CTDIvol and Size Specific Dose Estimates (SSDE).
It is also generally accepted that in light of recent technological advances, radiographers may lack the relevant knowledge and understanding, leading to radiation dose deskilling.3 With Dose&Care®, the software allows you to review – why radiation doses are high due to incorrect patient positioning and protocol exam type. Also, graphical presentation in 2D or 3D of the skin dose and calculation of the Peak Skin Dose (PSD) from any interventional radiology and cardiology procedure.
The main function of Dose&Care® is to record, retrieve, create a radiation dose history for the patient, set benchmarks against national diagnostic reference levels, audit, create quality improvement programs to reduce radiation dose, examination alerts systems for patients and radiology management with user friendly and adjustable digital dashboard matrix that suits the user’s needs.
Dose&Care® is a web application, which can be accessed from any standard browser, either through secured internet or intranet (LAN). There is no limitation on the number of users. Each user has a login and password to access the data. The administration module allows customising the data access rights and functionalities for each user.
At Guerbet, we build lasting relationships so that we enable people to live better. That is our purpose. A world leader in medical imaging, Guerbet is a publicly traded company on the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange, headquartered in France with offices and production facilities in Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific. It has a long-standing reputation as a pioneer in the research and development of contrast media for radiology.
Today, Guerbet contributes to progress made in the diagnosis of major disease areas including cancer, cardiovascular, inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. The company’s novel and effective imaging solutions help to improve patient management throughout the world. Guerbet offers a comprehensive range of imaging products, solutions, and services for Diagnostic Imaging –MRI, X Ray, Digital Solutions / AI– and Interventional Imaging, to enhance clinical decision-making, from diagnosis to treatment and follow-up, and improve patients’ quality of life.
For more information, please visit: www.guerbet.com.
References:
1 Ecri.org. 2022. [online] Available at: https://www.ecri.org/Resources/Whitepapers_and_reports/Top_Ten_Technology_Hazards_2015.pdf [Accessed 30 August 2022].
2 Awad MF, Karout L, Arnous G, Rawashdeh MA, Hneiny L, Saade C. A systematic review on the current status of adult diagnostic reference levels in head, chest and abdominopelvic Computed Tomography. J Radiol Prot. 2020 Sep;40(3):R71-R98.
3 Benfield, S., Hewis, J. D., &Hayre, C. M. (2021). Investigating perceptions of ‘dose creep’amongst student radiographers: A grounded theory study. Radiography, 27(2), 605-610
