The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017

1.  Practitioners and operators must have successfully completed training, including theoretical knowledge and practical experience, in— E+W+S

(a) such of the subjects detailed in Table 1 as are relevant to their functions as practitioner or operator; and

(b) such of the subjects detailed in Table 2 as are relevant to their specific area of practice.

[F1 Table 1

Radiation production, radiation protection and statutory obligations relating to ionising radiations

Fundamental Physics of Radiation
Properties of Radiation	Excitation and ionisation
	Attenuation of ionising radiation
	Scattering and absorption
Radiation Hazards and Dosimetry	Biological effects of radiation - stochastic and deterministic
	Risks and benefits of radiation
	Absorbed dose, equivalent dose, effective dose, other dose indicators and their units
Management and Radiation Protection of the individual being exposed
Special Attention Areas	Pregnancy and potential pregnancy
	Asymptomatic individuals
	Breastfeeding
	Infants and children
	Medical and biomedical research
	Health screening
	Non-medical imaging
	Carers and comforters
	High dose techniques
Justification and authorisation	Justification of the individual exposure
	Use of existing appropriate radiological information
	Alternative techniques
Radiation Protection	Diagnostic reference levels
	Dose reference levels
	Dose Constraints
	Dose Optimisation
	Dose reduction devices and techniques
	Dose recording and dose audit
	General radiation protection
	Quality Assurance for written procedures and written protocols
	Quality Control for the routine inspection and testing of equipment
	Risk communication
	Use of radiation protection devices
Statutory Requirements, Non-Statutory Guidance and other documents
	Regulations
	Non-statutory guidance
	Local procedures and protocols
	Individual responsibilities relating to exposures
	Responsibility for radiation safety
	Proactive use of clinical audit
	Analysis of events involving accidental or unintended exposures
	Study of risk of accidental or unintended exposures]

[F2 Table 2

Diagnostic radiology, radiotherapy and nuclear medicine

All Modalities
General	Fundamentals of radiological anatomy
	Factors affecting radiation dose
	Dosimetry
	Fundamentals of clinical evaluation
	Identification of the individual being exposed
	Equipment specification
Contrast Media	Use and preparation
	Contraindications
	Use of contrast injection systems

Diagnostic radiology
General	Principles of radiological techniques
	Production of X-rays
Specialised Techniques	Computed Tomography
	Interventional procedures
	Hybrid imaging
Practical aspects for diagnostic radiology	Patient positioning
	Equipment selection and use
	Protocol selection
	Optimisation of image quality and radiation dose
	Dose assessment and recording
	Image acquisition, artefacts, processing, display and storage

Radiotherapy
General	Production of ionising radiation
	Treatment of malignant disease
	Treatment of benign disease
	Principles of external beam radiotherapy
Specialised techniques	Brachytherapy
	Intra-operative radiotherapy
	Proton therapy
	Magnetic Resonance Linac therapy
	Computed Tomography: applications limited to radiotherapy
	Advanced techniques
Radiobiological Aspects for Radiotherapy	Fractionation
	Dose rate
	Radiosensitisation
	Target volumes
	Organs at risk
	The Radiobiological effect of gaps in treatment
	The Radiobiology of re-treatment
Practical Aspects for Radiotherapy	Patient positioning
	Equipment selection and use
	Principles of localisation techniques
	Principles of planning techniques
	Principles of dose calculation and verification techniques
	Principles of treatment techniques
	Principles of on-treatment imaging
	Optimisation of image quality and radiation dose
Radiation Protection Specific to Radiotherapy	Side effects—early and late
	Toxicity
	Assessment of efficacy

Nuclear Medicine
General	Atomic structure and radioactivity
	Radioactive decay
	Principles of molecular imaging and non-imaging exposures
	Principles of molecular radiotherapy
Molecular Radiotherapy	Dose rate
	Fractionation
	Radiobiology aspects
	Radiosensitisation
Specialised techniques	Quantitative imaging—advanced applications
	Hybrid imaging—advanced applications
	Selective Internal Radiation Therapy
Radiopharmaceuticals	Calibration
	Working practices in the radiopharmacy
	Preparation of individual doses
Practical aspects for nuclear medicine	Patient positioning
	Equipment selection and use
	Protocol selection
	Optimisation of image quality and radiation dose
	Dose assessment and recording
	Image acquisition, artefacts, processing, display and storage
Radiation Protection Specific to Nuclear Medicine	Conception, pregnancy and breastfeeding
	Radiation protection arrangements for radioactive individuals]

Textual Amendments

F1 Sch. 3 Table 1 substituted (1.10.2024) by The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/896), regs. 1(2), 18(a)

F2 Sch. 3 Table 2 substituted (1.10.2024) by The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/896), regs. 1(2), 18(b)

Commencement Information

I1 Sch. 3 para. 1 in force at 6.2.2018, see reg. 1