Dial it Down is a public awareness campaign by the Testicular Cancer Society to increase awareness about low-dose Computed Tomography (CT) technology. Our goal is to help reduce the risk of unnecessary exposure to ionizing radiation that is a part of necessary CT scans.

Exposure to CT and other medical imaging radiation is not done without risks. There is more and more convincing evidence that links radiation exposure to the risk of developing cancer.

The increased risk of developing cancer from CT scans, especially compared to our overall risk of developing cancer, can be described as small but real. For many patients, the information received from a CT scan far out weights the risks from radiation exposure. However, for certain patients that require multiple CT scans this risk can be amplified. With new low-dose CT scans the amount of radiation used can be reduced by 50-80%, which should reduce your risk of developing cancer. Patient access to these low-dose CT scanners can give you MORE – Maximum Outcomes with Reduced Exposure

Since its invention in the early 1970’s Computed Assisted Tomography (CAT or CT) has been an invaluable tool in medicine and the images it has produced has saved millions of lives. For their accomplishment, the inventors of CT, Godfrey N. Hounsfield and Allan M. Cormack, were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1979.

Since first being commercially available CT has revolutionized medicine and its usage and capabilities have increased dramatically over the decades. CT is now capable of producing clearer pictures with intricate details while doing so at breakneck speeds. It can even capture still images of a beating heart.

Since the early days, the knowledge of CT has also increased. The focus has now shifted to maintaining the present quality of images while reducing the amount of ionizing radiation that patients are exposed to during the examinations.  There is more and more convincing evidence that links radiation exposure from CT scans and other medical imaging exams and to the risk of developing cancer.

Interestingly, the inventors of CT had very little knowledge of CT’s long-term effects on the human body. This is evident in Allan M. Cormack’s Noble Banquet speech when he admitted, “There is irony in this award, since neither Hounsfield nor I is a physician. In fact, it is not much of an exaggeration to say that what Hounsfield and I know about medicine and physiology could be written on a small prescription form!”

Dial it Down! With  Low-Dose CT Scans You Deserve MORE – Maximum Outcomes with Reduced Exposure