Pediatric Use: Summary of Safety Instructions

WARNING: Use special care when imaging patients outside the typical adult size range, especially smaller pediatric patients whose sizes do not fit into the adult size range: e.g. patients less than 50 kg (110 lb) in weight and 150 cm (59 in) in height. These measurements correspond approximately to that of an average 12 year old US child or to 5% of US adult females. Do NOT use on patients who are about 5 years old and below and who are less than about 21 kg (46 lb) in weight and 113 cm (44.5 in) in height.

The use of equipment and exposure settings designed for adults of average size can result in excessive and unnecessary radiation exposure for a smaller patient.

Exposure to ionizing radiation is of particular concern for pediatric patients because:

Younger patients are more radio-sensitive than adults (the cancer risk per unit dose of ionizing radiation is higher for younger patients).
Younger patients have a longer expected lifetime over which the effects of radiation exposure may manifest as cancer.

To increase patient safety, imaging should be justified and optimized for X-ray imaging. X-ray exams should:

Be prescribed only when needed to diagnose or answer a medical inquiry and when benefits outweigh the risks.
Use techniques with the lowest radiation dose that still produces image quality that is adequate for diagnosis/intervention.

IMPORTANT: To help reduce the risk of excessive radiation exposure, you should follow the As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) principle and try to reduce the radiation dose to the amount that is necessary to obtain images that are clinically adequate.

IMPORTANT: The balance of radiation exposure and image quality for the desired clinical task should be considered. You have the responsibility to determine the final settings of the device to achieve image quality.