Optimization of radiation protection in diagnostic and interventional radiology: Which is the future?

As quoted in the latest UNSCEAR 2008 report: 'it appears that the world is entering another period of major technological changes, where the impact of these changes on the population dose worldwide in the future will be difficult to predict'. It is more than true that in this fast changing world and immense technological advances, especially in the medical sector, scientists run a marathon to be able to follow the new techniques that are continuously introduced for the benefit of the patient. Almost half of the radiation to the population in diagnostic radiology arises due to CT and interventional techniques. More and more medical specialties as well as other professions (nurses, technicians, managers, etc.) are currently being introduced into the term 'radiation safety culture' and 'optimization'. Some of these stakeholders were not aware of these expressions and were never trained or educated on these subjects. Each of these specialties should therefore be approached in a different way, indicating and underlining the specific roles of the experts, in order to persuade them to include radiation safety in their every day clinical routine. Below, some of these issues are identified and possible ways to move forward in the future are suggested. (author)