August 24, 2012 — West Physics Consulting, a national provider of medical and health physics consulting and testing services, has begun offering computed tomography (CT) dose reduction, fluoroscopy dose reduction and related services to medical imaging facilities throughout the United States.
Recent radiation dose incidents, newly published scientific studies and growing public and media attention have made minimizing unnecessary radiation dose to patients a priority for medical imaging facilities. In addition, state regulatory agencies and accrediting bodies are increasing their oversight and regulation of radiation dose, making compliance even more important for providers. Reducing radiation doses to patients while maintaining good clinical image quality, however, is a complex challenge requiring significant expertise and a comprehensive approach.
"Facilities are now being presented with a host of options from various vendors – dose tracking and analysis software, scanner hardware upgrades, technologist training, protocol optimization and more," says Geoffrey West, M.D., president and chief medical physicist of West Physics Consulting. "The radiation dose auditing and consultation services we have developed will: 1) assess the radiation doses a facility is starting with in each modality; 2) identify where improvements need to be made; 3) go ahead and make the most urgent and cost-effective improvements immediately with protocol optimization and enhanced staff training to reduce doses considerably; 4) quantify those improvements so the facility can inform patients, staff and referring physicians about their success, and 5) objectively evaluate how further available software and hardware upgrades would help lower doses even more."
Among the new slate of services is a CT dose audit service, which focuses on providing those medical facilities that perform CT with a comprehensive solution for their radiation dose management and reduction. Facilities in California can also elect an SB1237 Compliance Audit that will ensure that their facility meets the recently enacted state regulatory requirements regarding CT dose reporting and assessment.
In addition to CT, West Physics' dose reduction and audit services cover interventional fluoroscopy, with a full training and dose-tracking solution available for interventional fluoroscopy sites. Finally, facilities wishing to have all of their X-ray and nuclear medicine modalities reviewed, including radiography, mammography, positron emission tomography (PET), etc., can wrap all of these modalities into a complete facility audit package that addresses the dose reduction needs of every department in a cohesive and simple fashion.
For more information: www.westphysics.com
May 06, 2024 
