DOSE REDUCTION IS OUR PRIORITY. At Belton Regional Medical
Center our entire staff is engaged in this effort. Our
radiation-reduction efforts focus on: - Preventing accidental or
isolated incidents of excessive exposure. - Reducing cumulative
radiation dose: the sum total of radiation received by a given
patient over time. - Focusing on nationally accepted guidelines
to assure that we always give the lowest effective dose of
radiation possible. Employees follow strict procedures for
checking and double-checking patient information and the type of
exam to be performed. These simple steps can prevent an
unnecessary exam. The most important tool we use to reduce
radiation exposure is called a "protocol." A protocol is simply
a detailed description of how each exam should be conducted -
how much radiation to use, how many passes to make over what
part of the patient's body, and so on. We have hundreds of
protocols for all types of exams on all types of machines,
including CT scanners. Our goal is to reduce the do