The IAEA Online Course on Radiation Protection of Patients is Available in Three Languages

The IAEA has now introduced a Russian language version of its popular online course on computed tomography (CT), designed to educate health care professionals on managing radiation doses to patients.

The English version was presented first two years ago, and since then more than 2800 health care staff have completed the course. The course is a key component of the IAEA’s mission to strengthen radiation protection of patients in medical radiation procedures.

“Computed tomography is an incredibly useful diagnostic tool that helps medical professionals effectively diagnose and manage diseases,” said Jenia Vassileva, IAEA Radiation Protection Specialist.

According to UNSCEAR, CT scans make the largest contribution to the overall collective radiation dose from medical exposures to the global population. “This makes it critical that CT procedures are only performed when justified and when radiation protection is optimized,” Vassileva said, adding that “A CT scan must use the right radiation dose to produce required diagnostic results and no more or less.”

This course provides guidance to help health professionals to acquire a better understanding on how to manage and use radiation dose and image quality in different clinical situations.

The five-hour course consists of 11 modules covering the appropriate use of CT, various methods to optimize scanning protocols by selecting suitable scan parameters for different body regions, and the monitoring of patient dose data. The course has specific modules on how to optimize the radiation dose delivered to children and pregnant patients. Students who pass the final course examination receive an online certificate of completion.

To take the Russian, English and Spanish online versions of the course please register at the corresponding IAEA webpage here.

According to IAEA.