Image Gently - Pledging to Reduce Radiation Exposure in Children

As parents, we spend a great deal of time worrying about our children. When an injury or disease strikes, the last thing that parents want to worry about is whether their child is getting unnecessary radiation as part of the diagnostic process. At Zwanger-Pesiri Radiology, your children are our priority, which is why we have committed to the Image Gently campaign.

Image Gently is an initiative of the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging which began in 2008. The goal of the initiative is to raise awareness of radiation protection in the imaging of children and to reduce unnecessary exposure. Since the campaign began, over 20,000 medical professionals and groups have taken the pledge -- including ZPR. Image Gently provides protocols for pediatric computed tomography (CT), nuclear medicine, and interventional radiology.

The Image Gently pledge reads as follows, "Recognizing that every member of the healthcare team plays a vital role in caring for the patient and wants to provide the best care, I pledge:

• to make the image gently message a priority in staff communications this year
• to review the protocol recommendations and, where necessary, implement adjustments to our processes
• to respect and listen to suggestions from every member of the imaging team on ways to ensure changes are made
• to communicate openly with parents."

A new study in the journal JAMA Pediatrics has revealed that CT dose-reduction strategies  in children can result in a drastic decrease in radiation-induced cancers later in life. According to the study's lead author, Diana Miglioretti, Ph.D., "We estimated that the number of cancers caused by CT scans performed on children could fall dramatically - by 62 percent - if dose-reduction strategies like that instituted by the Image Gently initiative were targeted to exams with the highest quarter of doses and if CT scans were used only when medically necessary." 

ZPR is proud to have made the Image Gently pledge, and wants to reassure parents that we always strive to treat your children as though they were our own.

ZPR also participates in the Image Wisely campaign, for radiation safety in adult medical imaging.