title: A novel tool for user-friendly estimation of natural, diagnostic and professional radiation risk: Radio-Risk software.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Awareness of radiological risk is low among doctors and patients. An educational/decision tool that considers each patient' s cumulative lifetime radiation exposure would facilitate provider-patient communication.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this work was to develop user-friendly software for simple estimation and communication of radiological risk to patients and doctors as a part of the SUIT-Heart (Stop Useless Imaging Testing in Heart disease) Project of the Tuscany Region.
  
  
  METHODS
  We developed a novel software program (PC-platform, Windows OS fully downloadable at http://suit-heart.ifc.cnr.it) considering reference dose estimates from American Heart Association Radiological Imaging 2009 guidelines and UK Royal College of Radiology 2007 guidelines. Cancer age and gender-weighted risk were derived from Biological Effects of Ionising Radiation VII Committee, 2006.
  
  
  RESULTS
  With simple input functions (demographics, age, gender) the user selects from a predetermined menu variables relating to natural (e.g., airplane flights and geo-tracked background exposure), professional (e.g., cath lab workers) and medical (e.g., CT, cardiac scintigraphy, coronary stenting) sources. The program provides a simple numeric (cumulative effective dose in milliSievert, mSv, and equivalent number of chest X-rays) and graphic (cumulative temporal trends of exposure, cancer cases out of 100 exposed persons) display.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A simple software program allows straightforward estimation of cumulative dose (in multiples of chest X-rays) and risk (in extra % lifetime cancer risk), with simple numbers quantifying lifetime extra cancer risk. Pictorial display of radiation risk may be valuable for increasing radiological awareness in cardiologists.
authors.affiliation: CNR, Institute of Clinical Physiology, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Clara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carpeggiani
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paterni
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Caramella
authors.forename: Eliseo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vano
authors.forename: Richard C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Semelka
authors.forename: Eugenio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Picano
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009381:Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011859:Radiography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011874:Radiometry / Q000379:methods*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012984:Software; D014584:User-Computer Interface