How big is the radiation of X-ray film

While the X-ray equipment is changing day by day, but its basic principle is still more than 100 years ago Mr. Roentgen discovered the X-ray, x-ray is a very short wavelength, invisible to the naked eye electromagnetic waves, its wavelength in the range of 0.006-500A (?), which has a strong penetrating ability. A certain dose of X-ray through ionizing radiation, biological cells, especially proliferative cells, can cause cell inhibition, damage, or even necrosis. After the human body is irradiated by x-ray, depending on the degree of sensitivity to x-ray, there can be a variety of different reactions. The higher the cell proliferation, the more sensitive to x-ray, this role has been fully applied in the radiotherapy of tumors. Due to the characteristics of X-rays, it is undeniable that they are damaging to normal human tissues. According to the standards set by the International Commission on Radiological Protection, the total radiation risk is 0.0165 / Sievert, that is to say, for every Sievert (1 Sievert = 1000 mSv) of radiation dose received by the body, the chances of cancer will increase by 0.0165. Extrapolating from this, a patient with a fractured rib would have an increased risk of about 3.8 parts per million. For other medical examinations, the radiation dose received for a typical X-ray of the extremities is 0.01 mSv, for the abdomen 0.54 mSv, for the pelvis 0.66 mSv, for the lumbar spine 1.4 mSv, and for the upper gastrointestinal tract 2.55 mSv. To put this in perspective, the risk of cancer in a healthy population because of a medical exam is between 1 in 10 million and 1 in 100,000

Taking the most common chest examination as an example, the maximum single dose of radiation to human organs determined by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publication No. 44 of '84 is 7.5 Gray, above which a person is prone to radiation pneumonitis. What is the dose of the current X-ray examination? According to the Department of Preventive Medicine of China Medical University, Mr. Jia Mingxuan and others measured that the dose to the lungs during chest radiography was only 0.38 milligray, a difference of 20,000 times. The difference in the skin, the other most affected area, was more than 1,000 times.

CT is also an X-ray imaging device that also has X-ray radiation damage, and studies in the literature have suggested that the X-ray radiation dose from abdominal CT examinations is 1.5 times greater than that from conventional X-ray abdominal examinations (Radiology 2004;232:126-132.). Comparison of the average radiation dose from multilayer spiral CT volumetric scanning of the head, chest, and abdomen with the reference radiation dose prescribed in Europe in a specialized International Atomic Energy Agency study showed that the average radiation dose from spiral CT volumetric scanning was lower than the European standard (Radiology 2006;240:828-834.).

Radiologists and equipment manufacturers are ***also*** working to reduce the radiation dose from X-ray examinations. General X-rays have evolved from the traditional film on a sensitized screen to universal computed radiography CR and digital radiography DR, which have been reported in the literature to reduce radiation dose by 30% (Radiology 2005;237:691-700.); CT, on the other hand, has undergone techniques such as controlled bulb focus movement, ray collimation, patient presetting, X-ray filtering, automatic adjustment of bulb current, projection-adapted reconstruction filtering, and computer simulated dose reduction software, which have also resulted in varying degrees (20-60%) of radiation dose reduction for CT examinations (Radiology 2004;230:619-628.).

So, an ordinary X-ray examination is not too harmful to worry too much about. However, if you take too many X-rays unreasonably, you may still be exposed to X-rays that may cause cancer, leukemia or other hereditary diseases.Whether or not the radiation from X-rays causes irreversible damage is related to the dose of radiation, the time interval between tests, the individual's sensitivity to the rays, the quality of the equipment used, and the type of test, but not to the fact that X-rays necessarily cause damage. The key is to avoid the abuse of X-ray examination, avoid the use of substandard or outdated equipment inspection, inspection should pay attention to radiation protection.