Genetic damage from radiation pushes for more physician and operator safety efforts
Recent developments and research could improve the safety of interventional cardiologists exposed to harmful radiation in the cath lab, according to a recent article by Cardiovascular Business.
Accompanied by an editorial published in Circulation commenting on two studies published in October focusing on genetic damage from radiation, Charles E. Chambers, MD, spoke with Cardiovascular Business about the importance the studies, why hospitals need to purchase up-to-date, low-exposure imaging equipment and potential robotic technology to improve operator safety.
“The importance of protecting the patients is always there," Chambers told Cardiovascular Business. "But we should not underestimate the importance of protecting the operator and staff."
Specifically, the first study Chambers outlined in his editorial showed that microRNA (miRNA) was significantly downregulated in the brains of operators exposed to radiation when compared to a control group of the same sex and age who had no occupational exposure. The second study found that DNA genetic biomarkers were damaged and returned to baseline levels after 24 hours.
"These two studies suggest that radiation is what we were worried about all along. It really does increase genetic alterations,” Chambers said.
Read more aboutCardiovascular Business's conversation with Charles E. Chambers below:
A recent graduate from Dominican University (IL) with a bachelor’s in journalism, Melissa joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering all aspects of health imaging. She’s a fan of singing and playing guitar, elephants, a good cup of tea, and her golden retriever Cooper.