What is the ALARA principle?
ALARA stands for “As Low as Reasonably Achievable” [2] . It is the principle that is intended to guide the use of ionizing radiation in medical imaging. According to ICRP Publication 105, there are two principles of radiation safety: justification and dose optimization. Justification indicates that the benefit of the imaging procedure outweighs the risk associated with exposing the patient to a small amount of ionizing radiation. Dose optimization is often summarized as ALARA, but it dictates that the exam should be tailored to the clinical question, patient size, and the anatomy of interest. Furthermore, it also describes the need for proper equipment maintenance and testing, to assure that the amount of radiation to which a patient is exposed is appropriate for the study type.
