DOSIMETRY AT X-RAY EXAMINATIONS OF SCOLIOSIS

Scoliosis is the deformity of the spine that occurs among children, mostly girls, at the age of 10-16 years. X rays are taken to determine the severity of the deformity and to decide if treatment is necessary. Children are more sensitive to ionising radiation than adults. Because of their longer life expectancy, the risk of damage is also higher. Optimisation of radiological examination of children and neonates is therefore important in the work of radiation protection of the whole population. The mean absorbed dose to patient examined for scoliosis at three hospitals has been studied in order to determine the radiation risk. The differences in dose between the hospitals are large (a factor of 10 between the mean values and a factor of 100 between highest and lowest patient dose). According to BEIR V (1989), the risk of death from radiation induced cancer for a 15 year old girl is 1.6 % per 0.1 Sv. This means 0.2-2 deaths per 1000 scoliosis patients depending on which X ray examination technique is used.