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Summary Unit 21 C Medical Physics Application - BTEC Extended diploma applied medical science
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Unit 21 CP5 & M3.
All medical imaging technologies have their own health and safety risks, side effects and
limitations. Both non-ionising and ionising radiation technologies are no exception.
Non-ionising radiation technology.
Non-ionising radiation technology has the potential to cause damage to the human body.
Although non ionising radiation does not penetrate through dense bone or tissues, depending
on the amount of energy, exposure given and the way it is applied, it can cause serious risks
such as; affecting the nervous system leading to nausea or disorientation and damaging and
burning skin tissue and eyes. Here are some of the health and safety risks, side effects and
limitations of various non ionising radiation technologies.
Health and safety risks of non ionising radiation technology.
An ultrasound is an example of non ionising radiation technology whereby the energy of the
ultrasound waves has the potential to damage biological tissue by heating. The energy of these
ultrasound waves can also cause the development of gas pockets in body tissues. Lasers are
also an example of non ionising radiation technology which also has the potential to damage
biological tissue. As lasers are mostly used for the treatment of medical conditions of the skin,
tissue and eyes, these parts of the body are most at risk of tissue damage and burning. In
particular, stray optical radiation (whereby laser light is misdirected), is a huge health and safety
risk as UV and IR lasers emit radiation which cannot be seen so if the laser light is misdirected
the patient’s or staff would not know as they cannot see this radiation and their eyes would be at
risk of being damaged or burnt due to this exposure of radiation. Another non ionising radiation
technology is an MRI which also has health and safety risks such as the risk of metal objects
becoming projectiles when the MRI is in use due to the MRIs very strong magnetic fields. If
patients undergo MRI scans with undeclared metal implants or pacemakers etc. it could be very
dangerous and life threatening for this individual as the strong magnetic fields could interfere
with the mechanism of the patient’s pacemaker or whatever metal implant they have.
There are also health and safety risks for staff who operate these technologies, such as
unwanted radiation exposure, which is why it is so important that preventative measures are
constantly being put in place and updated for the safety and well-being of patients and staff
alike.
Side effects of non ionising radiation technology.
Also there are several side effects of non ionising radiation technology. For example different
types of ultrasounds possess different side effects. A transvaginal scan (vaginal ultrasound),
requires the insertion of an ultrasound probe into the vagina for between 15-30 minutes to
investigate conditions such as ovarian cysts, fibroids (muscle tumours of the uterus), pelvic
pain, abnormal bleeding etc. This procedure can be very discomforting for the patient,
potentially being painful, uncomfortable or embarrassing. Whereas an endoscopic ultrasound,
which produces images of surrounding internal organs through the insertion of a long thin tube
(that has an ultrasound signal with a microscope) into the patient’s oesophagus (or the rectum
or colon) to investigate conditions such as pancreatic cysts, analysis of the heart, cancer
detection, gallstone detection is quite intrusive, so some of the side effects include patients
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