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The roentgen or röntgen (/ ˈ r ɛ n t ɡ ə n,-dʒ ə n, ˈ r ʌ n t-/; [2] symbol R) is a legacy unit of measurement for the exposure of X-rays and gamma rays, and is defined as the electric charge freed by such radiation in a specified volume of air divided by the mass of that air (statcoulomb per kilogram).
Number of chest X-rays resulting in same effective dose Skull radiography (X-ray) 0.015 1 Chest X-ray 0.013 1 Lumbar spine X-ray 0.44 30 Abdomen X-ray 0.46 35 Pelvis X-ray 0.48 35 Screening mammography (4 views) 0.2 15 Dental X-ray (intraoral) 0.013 1 Diagnostic fluoroscopy: barium swallow 1 70 Cardiac angiography 7 500 Head CT 2 150 Chest CT 10
That model calculates an effective radiation dose, measured in units of rem, which is more representative of the stochastic risk than the absorbed dose in rad. In most power plant scenarios, where the radiation environment is dominated by X-or gamma rays applied uniformly to the whole body, 1 rad of absorbed dose gives 1 rem of effective dose. [5]
AP chest x-rays are harder to read than PA x-rays and are therefore generally reserved for situations where it is difficult for the patient to get an ordinary chest x-ray, such as when the patient is bedridden. In this situation, mobile X-ray equipment is used to obtain a lying down chest x-ray (known as a "supine film").
Absorbed dose is a dose quantity which is the measure of the energy deposited in matter by ionizing radiation per unit mass.Absorbed dose is used in the calculation of dose uptake in living tissue in both radiation protection (reduction of harmful effects), and radiology (potential beneficial effects, for example in cancer treatment).
Recognized effects of higher acute radiation doses are described in more detail in the article on radiation poisoning.Although the International System of Units (SI) defines the sievert (Sv) as the unit of radiation dose equivalent, chronic radiation levels and standards are still often given in units of millirems (mrem), where 1 mrem equals 1/1,000 of a rem and 1 rem equals 0.01 Sv.
The definition was refined in 1950 as "that dose of any ionizing radiation which produces a relevant biological effect equal to that produced by one roentgen of high-voltage x-radiation." [ 19 ] Using data available at the time, the rem was variously evaluated as 83, 93, or 95 erg /gram. [ 20 ]
Unlike a chest x-ray, the radiation source is inside the patient and will be carried around for a few days, exposing others to second-hand radiation. A spouse who stays constantly by the side of the patient through this time might receive one thousandth of patient's radiation dose this way.