The Governmental Policies of Saudi Arabia and Australia Concerning Radiological Procedures - Capstone Project Example

• The paper "The Governmental Policies of Saudi Arabia and Australia Concerning Radiological Procedures" is a good example of a capstone project on medical science.

• 2.0 Aim and objectives:

This research project is aimed to compare and contrast the radiation protection policy of Saudi Arabia with that of Australia. As part of this, the research project will focus on addressing four objectives, which are:

1 - To investigate the extent that the respective policies support best practice optimization of radiographic procedures.

2 - To investigate the extent that the respective policies support best practice imaging of patients with specific needs (such as infants, pregnant persons, mentally unstable persons, and obese persons).

3 - To investigate the extent that the respective policies support best practice imaging using specific procedures (such as fluoroscopy, angiography, and mobile radiography).

4 - To investigate the extent that the respective policies support best practice radiology department quality control.

3.0 Literature Review

3.1 Increasing use of ionizing radiation for medical purposes

Over the past years, technological advancement has been well incorporated into medical practice, paving the way for new revelations in relation to disease-causing factors and the pathophysiology of different diseases. This has enabled the development of different approaches to solving medical complications that were previously deemed mysterious. One of the facets of medical practice that has experienced changes involves medical imaging, which has been embraced as a tool for aiding in the diagnosis of certain medical conditions (Lang, Huang, Lee, Federico, & Menzin, 2013). It involves detailed visualization of the body’s internal parts with the aid of X-ray radiations. X-ray patterns are generated and recorded during exposure to ionizing radiation, which offers the user various static images after the exposure has been terminated. There are various uses of radiography that have been embraced in the field of medicine all over the world including dental examination, mammography, chiropractic examinations, confirmation of correct placement of any pre-invasive procedural surgical markers, orthopedic evaluations, and static recording or spot film during fluoroscopy (Lau & Ng, 2013).

The use of Computer Topography (CT) has also been well incorporated into pediatrics medicine given the need for accurate and short analysis procedures. In addition, the procedure can be easily applied among non-sedated, uncooperative, young pediatrics. According to Mohiy et al. (2011), the US carries out up to a total of 62 million Computer Topography scans each year, 6.5% of them are performed on pediatric patients (Al Mohiy, Sim, Seeram, & Davidson, 2011). This is just a representation of the continuous increase in the use of radiography to diagnose different conditions among individuals all over the world, including Australia and Saudi Arabia.

However, with the increasing use of ionizing radiation medical diagnosis and patient management, various radiation-related complications and risks have been identified. The risks are associated with the doses to which different individuals are exposed during the treatment procedures. The users of Computerized Topography face challenges in minimizing the number of rays that different individuals are exposed to, whilst still ensuring that they obtain the highest possible quality of images to facilitate observation of the organ or tissue under imaging (Aitchison, 2009). In addition, as much as radiological procedures are useful in establishing management plans for different patients, justification of such procedures has increasingly become a concern. Justification involves all the measures that are put in place to affirm the necessity of the radiological examinations for the clients who are referred to radiologists. In order to facilitate justification, the first and most important step involves using the appropriate referral guidelines (Aitchison, 2009). These guidelines outline the criteria for referring patients including the doses required. Justification also involves the application of clinical audits. Such audits are performed in consideration of the procedures that are expected to be performed. Lastly, justification also involves proper communication between the health professionals and between the professionals and the patients concerning the risks of exposure in relation to the benefits (Malone et al., 2012). Nevertheless, different measures have been established and even embedded in governmental policies to ensure that patients are only exposed to the right doses of ionizing radiation only when it is necessary in order to minimize the possible damages associated with such exposures.