Growing awareness of the environmental impact of radiology departments highlights the importance of adopting mitigation strategies to increase the energy sustainability of diagnostic activities. This study aims to estimate the energy usage of imaging activities in a radiology department to plan and evaluate different energy waste mitigation strategies. A retrospective analysis of the energy usage of imaging equipment, including computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), X-ray (XR), and workstations of radiology department in Italy, was carried out. The energy used was estimated based on equivalent mean power demand values in kWh. From this analysis, mitigation strategies were planned to reduce energy waste. The daily energy usage of the department is 877.5 kWh. The cone beam CT scanner is the imaging device with the lowest daily energy usage (6.6 kWh). Modalities with the highest mean daily energy usage are XR (18.4 kWh), CT (58.3 kWh), and MRI (214.6 kWh). The proposed mitigation strategies led to a reduction in energy waste quantified between 16.6% and 80.4%. The analysis of the energy usage of all imaging devices and workstations makes it possible to assess the energy waste of a radiology department. Understanding these elements is essential to develop strategies to reduce energy waste in radiology.
Energy Usage Assessment and Energy Savings Estimation in a Radiology Department in Italy
Roletto A.;Savio A.;Bonfitto G. R.;Zanoni S.
2025-01-01
Abstract
Growing awareness of the environmental impact of radiology departments highlights the importance of adopting mitigation strategies to increase the energy sustainability of diagnostic activities. This study aims to estimate the energy usage of imaging activities in a radiology department to plan and evaluate different energy waste mitigation strategies. A retrospective analysis of the energy usage of imaging equipment, including computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), X-ray (XR), and workstations of radiology department in Italy, was carried out. The energy used was estimated based on equivalent mean power demand values in kWh. From this analysis, mitigation strategies were planned to reduce energy waste. The daily energy usage of the department is 877.5 kWh. The cone beam CT scanner is the imaging device with the lowest daily energy usage (6.6 kWh). Modalities with the highest mean daily energy usage are XR (18.4 kWh), CT (58.3 kWh), and MRI (214.6 kWh). The proposed mitigation strategies led to a reduction in energy waste quantified between 16.6% and 80.4%. The analysis of the energy usage of all imaging devices and workstations makes it possible to assess the energy waste of a radiology department. Understanding these elements is essential to develop strategies to reduce energy waste in radiology.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
