Dose management gets one step closer to perfection as the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA) announced the publication of its fourth standard since 2010 for optimizing radiation dose.

The new release, called NEMA XR 28, requires that all CT equipment include information on how operators can reduce and optimize dose.

"The medical imaging industry is taking innovative strides to reduce radiation dose exposure and maximize image quality with the introduction of each dose optimization standard," said Gail Rodriguez, executive director of MITA in a release. "The XR 28 standard ensures that authorized CT operators have all the information necessary to maintain image quality and adjust dose levels appropriately, based on patients' individual needs, when changing or performing CT protocols."

A previous version standardized access controls for CT, and Smart Dose, released in March 2013, included four dose management tools to help physicians monitor and control dose.

In the release, Rodriguez noted that the dose management offerings were already "robust," but that she hopes MITA can continue to work with organizational partners including the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, the Food and Drug Administration, Image Gently, and Image Wisely to develop more safeguards.