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A collaboration between Fanshawe and Western has provided research that shows x-ray radiation can be reduced by 50 to 70 per cent.

“If there is a will, there is a way.”

Faculty member of the School of Health Sciences, Liz Lorusso, and her team of researchers are a perfect example of how this quote stands true. Academic articles have been claiming that the “as low as reasonably possible” (ALARA) principle, is conceivable when it comes down to the radiation doses emitted from x-ray scans.

Thanks to the work done by experts in London, ALARA has proven plausible by reducing doses by 50 to 70 per cent. Lorusso and her team’s research was designed to exploit computer- assisted technology in x-ray facilities to reduce patients’ radiation dose by half. Instead, they successfully proved doses could be reduced by almost three-quarters. Lorusso said the motivation behind the research project came easily with patient care being a job priority.

“The textbooks were advocating that we could do better and I just wanted to prove that we can do better, that we could really do the same job if not better, faster with this new digital equipment while still reducing patient dosage.” Although technology has tremendously advanced the way work in the medical field is done, the results have not changed as much as they could have.

Lorusso explained that many were aware of the possibly of fulfilling the ALARA principle, but a way to carry the transition out hadn’t been previously discovered yet.

“I advocated for it in my classes, but when I would go to work I would note it was not really utilized in the clinical environment and I thought it was time that we invest in a research opportunity to see if it was actually beneficial or possible or not.” Though Lorusso has been proudly advocating for patients throughout her career, she said that the credibility that the work done has come from the contributions of all teammates.

“I really want to take this opportunity to celebrate facilities at Western as well as here at Fanshawe College. We started this study and published within a year, and if it wasn’t for the strong research skills of my team, this would never have happened.”

The paper being published is a huge achievement as a result of the collaboration and co-operation of two schools in coming together to form one team. Reactions from a number of attended international conferences applaud the findings. After receiving a number of responses from individuals resisting the change implemented, Lorusso realized that change is not something that people like to embrace. Many knew of the possibility of change; however, the paradigm of film-based technology worked and professionals were satisfied with them. After all, why fix what is not broken? But the new digital equipment permits work to be completed faster and more safely, without compromising the quality of the images.

“The quality is still there as reviewed as radiologists, radiology residences and technologists, so we are not confounding aesthetic quality to dialogistic quality. We are able to prove diagnostic quality does not suffer.”

So the next step is asking, “Why have we not shifted into this direction?” In the past, professionals were expected to receive a doctor’s approval to apply new research findings, but that is no longer the case.

“In Ontario, we are self-regulated, which means radiologists or doctors no longer lead us, which means it’s time for us to lead ourselves,” she said.

Lorusso said she is hoping for a trickledown effect on how individuals in the medical field move forward alongside advancing technology. In the meantime, she will continue to attend educational opportunities internationally to speak about her team’s research findings to motivate others at the technologist level to influence change as well.