HISTORY

The European Medical ALARA Network as it currently exists is based on the idea and the findings of the European Commission-funded EMAN Tender Project which ran from January 2010 to October 2012.

BACKGROUND

Medical diagnostic procedures used to define and diagnose medical conditions constitute by far the greatest manmade source of ionizing radiation exposure to the general population. Although the benefit for the patients exposed will normally outweigh the risk associated with the radiation, there is concern that patients may undergo radiological examinations that will not have any positive impact on their health, or that unnecessarily high doses of radiation could be delivered with regard to the diagnostic outcome. Moreover, the increasing use of ionising radiation in the medical sector also has an impact on occupational radiation exposure, and there are concerns that practices such as interventional procedures may cause high individual doses.

OBJECTIVES

The main objective of the EMAN Tender Project was to establish a sustainable network where different stakeholders within the medical sector had the opportunity to discuss and to exchange information relating to the implementation of the ALARA principle in the medical field.

PARTICIPANTS

The EC-funded EMAN Tender Project was carried out by a Consortium which was composed of 7 organisations (SM, BfS, EFOMP, ESR, EFRS, CEPN and EURADOS).
Each organisation is active in radiation protection in the medical field and in the implementation of the ALARA principle. The EC-funded EMAN Tender Project was coordinated by a Steering Committee which was composed of one representative from each of the organisations in the Consortium, together with a representative from the European Commission and a representative from the Medical Working Party of the Article 31 Group of Experts.

WORK PLAN

The EMAN Tender Project was divided into 7 Work Packages, each of which covered specific tasks which contributed to the establishment of the European Medical ALARA Network.