Snippet 03: Radiation Risk and CT Scan of the Chest
126 years after the discovery of X-rays, there is no definitive data that radiation from CT scans increases the future risk of cancer.
There is considerable misinformation about the radiation risk related to CT scans in general and CT scans of the chest in particular .
In brief
- There is no known risk of radiation from CT scans including CT scans of the chest, when the radiation is less than 50-100 mSv (it is 1-3 mSv for a plain CT scan of the chest)
- This is 126 years after the discovery of X-rays, 125 years since the invention of the first X-ray machine and 49 years since the first CT scan images
- Comparing radiation from chest CT scan with radiation from chest X-rays is hence irrelevant
- There is no such thing as cumulative radiation risk, unless the cumulative radiation is more than 100 mSv in one-two days
This video explains all this in short
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