Addressing patient safety through the use of 'criteria of acceptability' for medical radiation equipment.

Patient safety should be considered in the use of ionising radiation equipment in medicine. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) establishes standards of safety and provides for the application of these standards, also in the area of medical use of radiation. Equipment acceptability, as it relates to radiation in medicine, is the need to satisfy the requirements or standards prior to the use of the device in patient imaging or treatment. Through IAEA activities in establishing and developing Safety Standards, Safety Reports and recommendations to regulatory authorities and end-users, it encourages the adoption of acceptability criteria that are relevant to the medical equipment and its use.