Snippet 03: Radiation Risk and CT Scan of the Chest

Bhavin Jankharia -

There is considerable misinformation about the radiation risk related to CT scans in general and CT scans of the chest in particular .

In brief

  1. 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)
  2. 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
  3. Comparing radiation from chest CT scan with radiation from chest X-rays is hence irrelevant
  4. 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