Radiation Dosage
Your doctor will order a radiology exam for you when it is needed for accurate diagnosis of your
condition. There is no conclusive evidence of radiation causing harm at the level that is used for
diagnostic exams. The benefits of diagnostic medical exams are vital to good patient care.
Radiation dose can be estimated for common exams. For comparison, in the United States each person
receives about 3.0mSv (300mrem) of radiation exposure from background sources each year.
The following tables give dose estimates for some typical exams.
X-Ray Examinations
Exam
Effective Dose mSv (mrem)
Examinations and Procedures
CT Abdomen/Pelvis
10 (1000)
Calcium Scoring
2.0 (200)
Nuclear Medicine
Heart (stress-rest)
10 (1000)
MRI and ultrasound procedures do not use ionizing radiation. If you have had an ultrasound or MRI
examination, you are not exposed to radiation.
Sources: radiologyinfo.org, hps.org