Paradigm shift in the application of patient contact shielding: a balancing act between tradition and progress
Question While patient shielding can increase radiation dose due to interference with automatic exposure controls, uncertainties persist regarding patient shielding in X-ray imaging practices. Findings There is marginal evidence of the clinical risks of patient shielding, and urgent needs exist for patient-specific evidence-based shielding guidelines. Clinical relevance By critically evaluating the ambiguous guidelines on patient shielding and highlighting the lack of evidence-based risks of patient shielding, this study argues for individualized, evidence-based practices to improve patient safety in clinical radiology.
Authors
- Wibke Uller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6756-9005)
- Thomas Stein (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3277-269X)
- Fabian Bamberg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7460-3942)
- Till Schürmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4230-7681)
- Martin Fiebich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6596-8774)
- Annika Jakobi
- Friederike Lang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2327-1044)
- Katharina Mueller-Peltzer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2490-7611)
- Alexander Rau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5881-6043)
- Christopher L. Schlett (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1576-1481)
- Jakob Weiß (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4058-2485)
- Kristin Goller-Bruchmann
Institutions
- University of Freiburg (DE)
- University Medical Center Freiburg (DE)
- Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- European Radiology
- Published
- 2025-09-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-025-12006-0
- Primary Topic
- Radiation Dose and Imaging
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
- Medizinische Fakultät der Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg