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CardioVascular and Interventional Radiology

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Open Access 01-08-2018 | Commentary

Fighting the Gender Gap in Interventional Radiology: Facts and Fiction Relating to Radiation

Authors: Werner Jaschke, Gabriel Bartal, Annalisa Trianni, Anna-Maria Belli

Published in: CardioVascular and Interventional Radiology | Issue 8/2018

Excerpt

The prevalence of women radiologists has risen in the past decade [1, 2]. However, women are grossly underrepresented in Interventional Radiology [1], and this may be partly due to fear of radiation exposure, particularly in the child bearing age. There is a lot of literature on potential health effects associated with long-term exposure to low-level radiation, occupational exposure of pregnant and potentially pregnant women and radiation exposure of the conceptus [3‐10]. However, practical advice for women who plan a career in interventional radiology or interventional radiologists who train and counsel female residents is rare. …

The human body-related protection quantities, equivalent dose in an organ/tissue and effective dose, are not measurable. To overcome these practical difficulties, the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) has introduced a set of operational quantities [24‐26], which can be measured and which are intended to provide a reasonable estimate for the protection quantities. The operational dose quantity used to control Effective Dose is the Personal Dose Equivalent H_p (10). The personal dose equivalent is usually measured with a calibrated personal dosimeter worn on the body.

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Chu B, Miodownik D, Williamson MJ, Gao Y, St Germain J, Dauer LT. Radiological protection for pregnant women at a large academic medical Cancer Center. Phys Med. 2017;43:186–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmp.2017.04.012.CrossRefPubMed

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Richardson DB, Cardis E, Daniels RD, Gillies M, O’Hagan JA, Hamra GB, et al. Risk of cancer from occupational exposure to ionising radiation: retrospective cohort study of workers in France, the United Kingdom, and the United States (INWORKS). BMJ. 2015;351:h5359. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h5359.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

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Berrington de Gonzalez A, Ntowe E, Kitahara CM, Gilbert E, Miller DL, Kleinerman RA, et al. Long-term mortality in 43 763 U.S. radiologists compared with 64 990 U.S. psychiatrists. Radiology. 2016;281(3):847–57. https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.2016152472.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

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Miller DL, Vano E, Bartal G, Balter S, Dixon R, Padovani R, et al. Occupational radiation protection in interventional radiology: a joint guideline of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology Society of Europe and the Society of Interventional Radiology. Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol. 2010;33(2):230–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00270-009-9756-7.CrossRefPubMed

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Ghatan CE, Fassiotto M, Jacobsen JP, Sze DY, Kothary N. Occupational radiation exposure during pregnancy: a survey of attitudes and practices among interventional radiologists. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2016;27(7):1013–20.e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvir.2016.03.040.

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Title: Fighting the Gender Gap in Interventional Radiology: Facts and Fiction Relating to Radiation
Authors: Werner Jaschke
Gabriel Bartal
Annalisa Trianni
Anna-Maria Belli
Publication date: 01-08-2018
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: CardioVascular and Interventional Radiology / Issue 8/2018
Print ISSN: 0174-1551
Electronic ISSN: 1432-086X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00270-018-1968-2

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Fighting the Gender Gap in Interventional Radiology: Facts and Fiction Relating to Radiation

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