Brain CT scan
in Health ·
Alexander Lewis said:When it comes to any kind of CT scan, I get that they have massive diagnostic value. However, I honestly don't understand how anyone can recommend a test that hits a patient with such a heavy dose of ionizing radiation when there’s an alternative with similar diagnostic power—like an MRI—that doesn't involve any radiation at all.
A full-body CT delivers about 12 mSv of radiation, while a chest CT sits at around 10 mSv. To put that in perspective, the threshold often cited regarding cancer risks from those exposed to the atomic blast in Hiroshima 20 mSv. The real issue with a CT is that you aren't just getting one single image; you're getting an entire series of them. For comparison, the radiation from a standard chest X-ray is roughly 0.02 mSv. That means the CT is essentially hitting you with 500 times more.
I was recommended to have a chest CT because my thoracic duct lymph pathways look enlarged, so we can rule out any potential illnesses... Would it be better for me to go with an MRI instead, both to avoid the radiation and maybe for better image quality? And is an MRI that test where you have to slide into a sort of tube or something like that?