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For patients who are claustrophobic, the idea of getting an MRI can be an absolute nightmare. It may be worse than just about any medical procedure they can imagine, in fact. It forces them to face a fear that causes a primal reaction in them, making them feel as if they are in real danger of life and limb, leading to panic. The whole time, they will have to remain perfectly still and allow the scan to be completed. There are ways that claustrophobic patients who need an …

Personal protective equipment is part of any job where hazardous energies or materials are in use. For radiology techs, of course, personal protective equipment means a combination of equipment, both that which shields the technician from ionizing radiation and equipment which provides a gauge to let the technician know when they have received too much radiation. The shielding integrity of a good pair of lead-lined gloves has to be tested at least once per year, and testing …

Leaded glasses can vastly reduce the amount of radiation exposure that a radiology tech experiences to their eyes. Of course, reducing the amount of exposure that a radiology tech is subjected to during the course of their work is always a primary goal, but the advantages of using protective glasses may be underestimated by radiology techs themselves. One of the primary conditions that utilizing x-ray protective glasses can prevent is cataracts. Where protecting against …

Lead aprons are part of the basic supplies for anybody who works around x-rays and, of course, for people who go in to get an x-ray as part of a diagnostic procedure. Lead is the material of choice because it provides excellent protection against electromagnetic radiation, like x-rays. What goes on when an x-ray strikes a lead apron is actually, from a physical perspective, quite interesting. It’s a bit more complex than merely blocking the radiation (for info on apron care, see the …

Whenever a patient is recommended to have an x-ray or some other medical imaging procedure by their physician, it’s likely that they’re already dealing with something stressful. They might have something as minor as arthritis or pain in their back, but they also might be wrestling with the possibility that they have cancer or some other very serious condition that requires imaging to diagnose correctly. Given that this is the case, many of these patients are likely to be …