hey all ct techs who have been around for a while.....

papa

ok, so my radiologist comes over to me, and asks me if we have any ct shields.

Question

my confused look gave him the answer, and he asked me to investigate the use of bismuth shielding. i've googled, yahoo'd, and any other way searched for them, and all i can get are some articles that say "hey, this is a good idea".

i've found 3 or 4 places that sell the darned things, and they all say that they are disposable (at the cost of about $120 a piece) due to the likeliness of contamination from other paitents.

does anybody really use these?? i mean, ALARA and all, but i can't imagine placing a small piece of shielding over JUST the breast tissue for a chest CT. wouldn't it be better to just get a large sheet of the stuff, find a way to make it reuseable (like in diagnostic x-ray)? the eye shield i can understand, reducing radiation to the eyes, but why stop there? why not just wrap the patient in the stuff?

http://www.coneinstruments.com/CIcatsub1.asp?cat_id=11749

http://www.coneinstruments.com/CIproddetail1.asp?Product_ID=3869

http://www.shieldingintl.com/accessories/breastshield.htm

confused papa
_________________
Mr. Green

papa RT(R)(CT) Mr. Green

Delusional Radiology
never meddle in the affairs of a dragon, for you are crunchy, and taste good with ketchup