Patent ID: 8538776

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of providing a radiation scorecard for controlling radiation dose exposure to an individual comprising: calculating, using a processor of a computer system, an entrance skin dose and effective dose to a patient, for a predetermined medical procedure; calculating, using said processor, an area of irradiation to said patient; calculating, using said processor, an effective radiation dose to said patient using a radiation detector, for said medical procedure, as a summation of a product of an entrance skin dose times fractional organ doses stored in a database, times critical organ dose weighting factors retrieved from said database, wherein said medical procedure is an imaging examination using an imaging device; storing said effective dose for said patient, in said database; deriving, using said processor, a cumulative radiation dose for said patient which is compared against a maximum radiation exposure amount safe for said patient; calculating, using said computer, said radiation dose exposure from said comparison, to result in optimized radiation dose exposure parameters for said patient; deriving a patient radiation scorecard including said cumulative radiation dose, said maximum radiation exposure amount, and said optimized radiation dose exposure parameters, and storing said patient radiation scorecard in said database; retrieving comparable data to an examination profile, which contains patient data retrieved from said database on said patient, on said radiation dose exposure from said database; comparing said comparable data to said patient data on said radiation dose exposure from said imaging examination profile; displaying said optimized radiation dose exposure parameters and corresponding radiation dose exposure calculations derived from said comparison using said processor, on a display; and identifying technology options including alternative imaging examinations or alternative examination protocols, to minimize said radiation dose exposure to said individual patient.