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A collection of some classic Lemmy memes for your enjoyment
Dosage. Patients generally only get one x-ray every few years on average so being exposed is fine. The x-ray tech takes dozens every day so if they were exposed every time they would exceed safe dosage very quickly.
Also, they give you a lead garment to protect the areas that aren't being x-rayed. So the technicians are taking appropriate safety precautions for you as well as themselves.
Even without that precaution you get more radiation exposure from a long plane ride than from a single x-ray (less atmosphere above you = less shielding from cosmic radiation).
Employed X-ray tech here, this is mostly accurate, but most relevant academic bodies, in the US at least, actually recommend not shielding patients anymore, since it usually leads to slightly higher doses depending on the particular exam.
Collimation of the beam is sufficient to reduce dose with modern equipment.
That being said, when the patient is being X-rayed, such as in surgery, the primary source of radiation for everyone else is the patient. Since that cannot be collimated, lead aprons should be worn, and should be facing the source of radiation (i.e., don't turn your back when the beam is on, or wear a full wrap lead apron). Even that being said, the amount of radiation is low for almost everything except CT scans and IR (heart cath/embolization etc) cases.
they never gave me a lead garment
Lead garments are usually used to protect the doctors and technologists during fluoroscopy or x-ray guided therapy or surgery.
Collimation is what protects the areas that aren’t x-rayed in a patient.