Radiation damage (skin injury)

Last revised by William Howden on 11 Mar 2023

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Murphy A, Howden W, Smith H, et al. Radiation damage (skin injury). Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 18 Apr 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-53269

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-53269

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/53269

rID:

53269

Article created:

9 May 2017, Andrew Murphy ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Andrew Murphy had no recorded disclosures.

View Andrew Murphy's current disclosures

Last revised:

11 Mar 2023, William Howden

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised William Howden had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.

View William Howden's current disclosures

Revisions:

6 times, by 5 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Sections:

Imaging Technology

Radiation-induced skin injuries can occur in both radiotherapy and fluoroscopic procedures such as interventional radiology. It is a type of deterministic effect.

Acute radiation doses above 2 Gy are known to result in erythema, permanent epilation will occur at 7 Gy and delayed skin necrosis transpires above doses of 12 Gy.

The damage is related to the absorbed dose of the area of skin receiving the most exposure in the examinations.

Methods to control skin dose

maintain a low current and therefore a higher kV
ensure the detector is as close to the patient as possible
tight collimation to the area of interest
minimize screening time
do no use a grid for smaller patients
when a substantial gap is between the patient and detector remove the grid as this utilizes the air gap technique