Radiation in medicine and industry

Unlike the nuclear industry, where radiological doses to the workforce and the general population are continually being driven down, the trend is upwards for the medical sector. This is due in large part to the Government targets for the NHS and the increasing use of high dose procedures, such as computed tomography (CT). This paper attempts to provide an introductory overview of the magnitude of exposures in medicine and industry. By limited example, it aims to show how serious consideration of use of cost-benefit analysis in an holistic way is required to aid future decision making of how best to allocate limited public financial resources to achieve maximum health benefit for the individual and the UK population. Overall, radiation in medicine is beneficial, but still greater benefit could be achieved by optimising all medical exposures, especially those contributing most to the UK population exposure from medical X-rays and by increased investment in other imaging modalities, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).