AbstractID: 6884 Title: Twenty Seven Years of The Nationwide Evaluation of X-ray Trends
The Nationwide Evaluation of X-ray Trends (NEXT) program annually surveys a specific
radiological examination. The primary metrics it measures are radiation air kerma (exposure),
free-in-air, along with a variety of associated technical factors that affect dose and image quality.
The survey sample is random and nationally representative.
The program is conducted collaboratively by the Food and Drug Administrations’ (FDA) Center
for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), the Conference of Radiation Control Program
Directors (CRCPD), and has also been supported with funding by the American College of
Radiology (ACR) since 1998.
The surveys are conducted using a set of seven phantoms, most of which have been developed
by FDA since 1984. These phantoms have been clinically validated, i.e. they represent the
nominal mean patient, and enable the derivation of patient dose from knowledge of the
measured metric, air kerma. Surveys with these phantoms have been conducted since 1984, with
each year dedicated to a single examination. Surveys have been done for chest radiography
(1984, 1986, 1994, 2001), mammography (1985, 1988, 1992, and 1995-2001), abdominal,
lumbo-sacral spine radiography (1987, 1989, 1995, planned for 2002), computed tomography
(1990, 2000), fluoroscopy (1991, 1996), dental radiography (1993, 1999), and pediatric chest
radiography (1998).
A review of the phantoms along with highlights of past and recent surveys will be presented.