Development of a mobile application for assessing radiation risk associated with medical X-ray radiological examinations

The use of ionizing radiation is one of the most rapidly developing areas in medical diagnostics; it has led to a steady increase in both the number of examinations and the collective dose of medical exposure in recent years. In this regard, improving access to reliable scientific information on radiation risks associated with medical exposure is a relevant and timely objective. The aim of this study is to describe a mobile application developed for assessing radiation risk associated with medical X-ray radiological examinations for patients of different sexes and ages from the Russian population. Materials and Methods: To provide a comprehensive representation of radiation risks from diagnostic medical exposure, the mobile application incorporates results based on four different risk indicators: average individual effective dose; average number of disability-adjusted life years lost; average risk of developing malignant neoplasms adjusted for disease severity; and a qualitative risk scale supplemented with color-coded visual representation of risk magnitude. To build the database of radiation risk indicators, a total of 17,719 organ dose estimates were used. These were obtained for patients of various ages undergoing diagnostic medical examinations. Results and Discussion: The developed mobile application features a bilingual interface with the option to add additional language modules. Its minimalist design allows switching between three main screens: “Single Study”, “Study Series”, and “Saved Series”. Conclusion: The development of this mobile application for radiation risk assessment represents the first practical implementation of the risk assessment methodologies developed by the authors, with the goal of creating a simple tool to support information accessibility for patients, their legal representatives, healthcare professionals, and a wide range of interested users.