Analysis of patient medical exposure in X-ray diagnostics in Russia for half a century (1970–2019)

Abstract

During last 50 years, firstly in the RSFSR in the USSR (1970-80), then in the Russian Federation - RF (1990-2019), the authors studied the radiation safety issues of patients from medical exposure. The reader is offered a complex radiation-hygienic analysis of the 50-year medical exposure of patients and of the population in Russia to inform and analyze the available data on the most common type of use of ionizing radiation sources in the national economy. For a half century, several generations of people have changed and medical diagnostic X-ray equipment and technologies have also radically changed. The information from this article was obtained on the basis of radiation-hygienic statistics, as well as considered our research. The data is presented at the federal level in the form of the volume of research carried out- determined by the number of X-ray procedures, as well as the level of medical exposure in the form of effective dose of patients in Russia - a huge region with a population of about 150 million people, where about 200 million X-Ray procedures were performed annually, i.e. about 10 billion X-Ray procedures for the entire observation period. During the study, a collective effective dose was - 6.5 million person-Sv at the rate of 100 thousand person-Sv and more per year. The paper presents the dynamics and the structure of the studied indicators depending on the type of medical exposure, as well as its localization. The contribution of the X-ray diagnostics to the total volume of radiation diagnostics, which is developing dynamically, is presented. It was found that throughout the study, there were two oppositely directed processes: an increase in the number of X-Ray procedures and a decrease in the effective doses of patients. At present, the minimum dose has been reached, after that it has been increasing began, associated with the use of new computer technologies. It was determined that, depending on the localization, the main radiation load during X-ray procedures falls on the skeleton and digestive organs. It is shown that during the study period (in 1986) there was an accident at the Chernobyl, which significantly affected on medical activities and, in particular, X-ray diagnostic indicators. The paper shows the consequences of these situations. In general, the data presented is huge in volume and significant in information content. The information obtained on the basis of such a unique data is representative and allows, firstly, to analytically study the issues of radiation protection of patients and, secondly, to plan the strategy and tactics of its development.