My hip X-ray is 35 mAs. Am I overexposed?

Question

Hello doctor,

I had a hip X-ray of 35 mAs. An average hip x-ray is supposed to be 20 mAs/.07 mSv. So if my hip x-ray was 35 mAs, how many more mSv have I received? Was I overexposed?

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

The x-ray power output depends on mAs (milliampere-seconds) and kVp (kilovoltage peak) parameters. The average hip x-ray can be done at about 20 to 30 mAs and 70 to 80 KVp. The general rule is that the percentage increase in mAs causes a similar increase in radiation dose. In your case we can take the average tube current as 25 mAs and dose given to you is 35 mAs. Therefore you might have received 30 to 40 percent over the dose if given a 25 mAs exposure. As x-ray dose for hip x-ray is less when talking about the harmful effects of radiation, so you do not have any significant increase in radiation dose risks.

Answer 2

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

The increase in dose will be 0.28 mSv (millisievert). So you might get a dose of 0.98 mSv.