The International Basic Safety Standards and Their Application in Medical Imaging

Abstract

In 2011, several international organizations, led by the International Atomic Energy Agency, completed the latest revision of the document commonly known as the Basic Safety Standards (BSS), and during the course of 2012 its formal approval by each of the cosponsoring organizations was completed. The BSS is used worldwide as the basis for radiation protection legislation and regulations. As in the previous versions, this updated BSS sets out the radiation protection requirements for workers, members of the public and patients. Particular attention is given to the use of radiation in medical applications, the potential benefits of which are increasing, especially with the developments of new imaging technologies and wider use of image-guided interventions. The provision of radiological procedures involve a multidisciplinary team led by a physician who often is not the licensee of an authorized facility, thus the responsibilities in medical exposures are shared by several individuals. The BSS establishes the education, training and competence requirements and lists the functions of the radiological medical practitioners, referring medical practitioners, medical radiation technologists and medical physicists. Procedure justification is to be shared between the referrer and the medical radiological practitioner, who is also responsible for optimization of protection, aided by the medical radiation technologist who chooses the appropriate patient techniques, and by the medical physicist, who calibrates sources, assesses image quality and patient dose, and is responsible for the physical aspects of the quality assurance programme, including equipment acceptance testing and commissioning. They all participate in preventing, detecting and assessing unintended and accidental medical exposures. The practical implementation of these BSS requirements should ensure the radiation protection and improve the quality of practice in a radiological facility.