Radiation dose and quality assurance

Although the basic concept of avoiding unnecessary radiation exposure and of optimizing the quality of medical procedures is well known, new approaches have since been facilitated by significant advances in technology and radiopharmacy. Furthermore, efforts concerning the analysis and development of medical procedures under the formal aspect of quality assurance have gained wider acceptance. This paper is dealing with the absorbed dose and effective dose equivalent from conventional and more recent procedures in nuclear medicine, the dose increase due to radionuclide impurities, pathophysiology and multiple examinations, as well as with the dosage of activity administered in pediatric nuclear medicine. In addition to the avoidance of unnecessary radiation exposure, particular aspects of quality assurance are being addressed with special emphasis on the quality control of nuclear medicine instrumentation. (orig.)