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Patient Protection: Pregnancy, Pediatrics and Image Gently
Avoiding repeats and collimating tightly cut patient dose; routine gonadal and fetal shielding is not advised.
ALARA and Justification
ALARA means keeping patient dose as low as reasonably achievable while still producing a diagnostic image. It rests on justification, meaning the exam's benefit outweighs its risk, and optimization, meaning the exam is done with the least dose that answers the clinical question. The radiographer supports justification by checking the order against the clinical indication and confirming the patient with two identifiers, because an exam on the wrong patient or body part is entirely unnecessary dose. Optimization covers every choice that follows, and the largest source of avoidable dose is the repeat exposure.