Dose Tracking

The Dose Tracking module records and monitors radiation exposure for every patient across all imaging modalities. Cumulative dose logs help radiologists and...

2026-02-01 · 5 min

Manual area

Radiology

Coverage

6 sections

Operator notes

3 implementation notes

Overview

The Dose Tracking module records and monitors radiation exposure for every patient across all imaging modalities. Cumulative dose logs help radiologists and referring physicians make informed decisions about future imaging, comply with AERB regulations, and identify patients approaching threshold limits.

Automatic Dose Capture

When an imaging study is completed, Bio Ecko automatically extracts dose metrics from the DICOM Radiation Dose Structured Report (RDSR). For CT scans this includes CTDIvol, DLP, and effective dose. For fluoroscopy it captures DAP and fluoroscopy time. X-ray captures mAs, kVp, and DAP. If RDSR is unavailable, technologists can manually enter dose values from the console display.

Patient Dose History

Open any patient record and navigate to the Radiation History tab to view a chronological log of every exposure. The dashboard shows a cumulative effective dose chart broken down by body region, a color-coded traffic light indicator (green / amber / red) based on configurable thresholds, and the date and type of each study. Amber flags appear at 80% of the annual threshold, and red flags at 100%.

Dose Alerts & Notifications

When a new imaging order is placed for a patient who has reached the amber or red threshold, the ordering physician sees an interruptive alert. The alert displays the cumulative dose, the threshold, and suggests alternative modalities (e.g., MRI or ultrasound). The physician can acknowledge and proceed with a documented justification or choose an alternative. All alert interactions are logged in the audit trail.

Diagnostic Reference Levels (DRLs)

Administrators configure DRLs for each examination type under Settings > Radiology > Dose Limits. These reference values are based on AERB and ICRP guidelines and can be customized per facility. The system compares individual study doses against DRLs and flags outliers for quality review. Quarterly reports summarize DRL compliance by modality, room, and technologist.

Reporting & Compliance

The Dose Reports section provides pre-built reports including: Patient Dose Summary (individual lifetime dose), Facility Dose Audit (aggregate by modality, room, and period), DRL Exceedance Report (studies exceeding reference levels), Technologist Performance (average dose by operator), and Regulatory Submission Report (formatted for AERB annual reporting). All reports can be exported as PDF or CSV.

Notes

Info

Dose tracking is fully automatic for modalities that produce DICOM RDSR. No manual entry is needed for modern CT and fluoroscopy equipment.

Warning

For older X-ray units without RDSR capability, establish a protocol for technologists to manually enter dose parameters immediately after each study to maintain accurate records.

Clinic tip

Small clinics with a single X-ray unit should still enable dose tracking. Even for low-dose modalities, cumulative records are valuable for pediatric patients and medico-legal documentation.