How will the new definition of 'effective dose' modify estimates of dose in diagnostic radiology?

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) has recently revised the individual organ weighting factors, w T , which are used for computing the 'effective dose' (previously known as the 'effective dose equivalent'). This paper compares quantitative values of the effective dose (E) with the effective dose equivalent (H E ) to patients undergoing a range of diagnostic X-ray and nuclear medicine examinations. The relationship between energy imparted in diagnostic examinations and the corresponding effective dose was also investigated. The new weighting factors result in poorer correlations between energy imparted and effective doses.