1. The name of department.
Although our department is called the Department of Radiology, but the services we provide do cover more than just using radiation of X-ray. For instance, we conduct ultrasound scanning, which involves a sound that cannot be heard by the human ear due to its particular wavelength is significantly high than our hearing threshold; also, we conduct MRI, which uses magnetic field to detect the water molecular oscillation within the human body thus creating an image. Therefore, our Department should be recognised as the Department of Medical Imaging.
2. What do we do?
We can identify any lesion with a patient’s organ, without the necessity of surgery, by using the appropriate equipments, together with our professional medical knowledge. clinician will then act accordingly to our doctors’ opinion and other clinical information to outline a plan for the treatment. Some treatment process under fluoroscope or sonography guide are performed in our department.
3. Is x-ray harmful?
The only radiation we use in the Department of radiology is x-ray. Its strength is relatively small compared to α-ray or γ-ray. Only a apron made by lead is needed in order to prevent the penetration of x-ray. It is therefore that our staff have to wear the apron, or a collar, or a pair of lead gloves while they are on duty. Our Department is an absolutely safe environment with regard to x-ray penetration, the walls and doors of our examine room all contain sufficient amount of lead to prevent x-ray penetration. Also the fact that the strength of x-ray decrease proportionally over distance, patients and staff are well-protected in our Department.
Though there will be an inevitable exposure to x-ray for the patients who are being checked, but exposure to radiation is not as dangerous as it might been portrayed by some ill-informed sources. Even our body is a source of radiation, and we are being exposed to radiation from almost everything in our everyday life. For example, the amount of radiation we receive from taking a chest X-ray film is approximately equivalent to flying from Taipei to New York in a commercial plane. However, we are conscious about developing foetus, that is the reason why we do not recommend x-ray examine to pregnant women, we recommend ultrasound or MRI instead.