How dangerous is it to eat a banana?
A discussion of the radiation dose of a bone age hand X-ray.
The hazard of ionizing radiation is of great concern in pediatric radiology, but there is a need for a better understanding of the huge differences in the effective doses of various examinations. The effective dose of a pediatric hand X-ray is remarkably small, 0.0001 mSv, equivalent to 1 minute of airline flight. Sometimes this is said to be equivalent to eating a banana, but as explained below, this comparison is flawed.