Status of diagnostic X-ray equipment in Korea in 2017

Kim Hyun Ji(A), Lee Jung-eun, Lee Byung-young, Gil Jong-won, Kim Hyun-Jin,
Song Seung-Ki, Im Gwang-Rae, Kim Jae-Ho, Kim Hyun-ji(B), Lee Hyun-Koo
Division of Medical Radiation, Center for Disease Prevention, KCDC

There has been a continuous increase in the number of diagnostic X-ray machines in Korea, from 78,347 in 2015 to 84,756 in 2017. District-based categorization revealed that Seoul had the largest number of diagnostic X-ray machines (20,015 [23.6%]), while Sejong had the smallest number (318 [0.4%]). Classification based on the types of X-ray equipment showed that general equipment with a separate tube-high voltage (HV) generator used in radiography or fluoroscopy accounted for the largest proportion (24.1% [20,423]), followed by general equipment with integrated tube-HV generator (21.2% [17,972]), intra-oral equipment (16.8% [14,274]), equipment for panoramic imaging (12.8% [10,840]), dental computed tomography equipment (10.4% [8,776]), equipment for bone mineral densitometry (8.2% [6,954]), mammography equipment (3.8% [3,207]), and whole-body computed tomography equipment (2.7% [2,310]). Based on the period of use, 33.0% (27,977) of the equipment had been used for 5 years or less. With the increase in the use of diagnostic X-ray equipment, the greater efforts will need to be focused on the safe use of radiological techniques in medicine.

Keywords: Radiologic technology, Radiography, Dental radiography, Mammography, Safety management