AAPM Issues Position Statement Recommending Alternatives to Bismuth Shielding for CT Scans

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine has issued a position statement (pdf) recommending providers seek alternatives to the use of bismuth shielding for reducing the dose from CT to anterior radiosensitive organs, such as the breast, eye lens and thyroid.

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In the statement, AAPM discusses disadvantages associated with the use of bismuth shields, such as unpredictable and potentially undesirable levels of dose and image quality, degraded image quality and accuracy, and the waste of some of the patient’s radiation exposure

 

AAPM then discusses alternative techniques that do not have these disadvantages, including adjusting automatic exposure controls parameters and the use of organ-based tube current modulation techniques.

 

“AAPM recommends that these alternatives to bismuth shielding be carefully considered, and implemented when possible,” according to the statement.

 

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