Who can operate radiological equipment?

The legal advice of the Brazilian College of Radiology and Image Diagnosis (CBR) has advised members that it is possible to hire both a radiology technician or technologist and a biomedical doctor to operate radiological devices, including magnetic resonance imaging in this group. With regard to radiology technicians and technologists, the possibility of operating devices aimed at radiodiagnosis stems from the Law that regulates the profession itself (Law No. As for the biomedical, it should be noted that this professional has adequate training for the operation of radiology equipment, provided that he undergoes specific training. As is well known, imaging tests are part of the specialty of Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging, which is why they must be performed, supervised and interpreted by a specialist. According to article 5, items II and III, of Federal Law No. 6.684/79, that regulates the profession of biomedical, this professional can work in Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging. Moreover, acting in Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging as a professional exercise by the biomedical doctor is in perfect harmony with the provisions of item XIII of our Magna Carta, which provides: “XIII – the exercise of any work, trade or profession is free , meeting the professional qualifications established by law”. It is important to highlight that for the biomedical to work in Radiology and Imaging (excluding interpretation), Resolution nº 78/2002 imposes that this work can only be developed if “proven internship with a duration equal to or greater than 500 (five hundred) hours, in official or private institutions recognized by the competent body of the Ministry of Education or in a laboratory associated with higher education institutions or specialization or postgraduate courses, recognized by the MEC" Finally, the performance of the biomedical in Radiology and Imaging (radiodiagnosis), always under medical supervision, must observe the terms of article 6, §§ 1, 2 and 3 of the aforementioned Resolution, considering the limits set forth in the sole paragraph of Article 5 of Law No. 6684/79, which requires proof of resume effectively carried out and which will define the professional specialty. As it involves issues related to radiation emission, standards of protection and operation of radiological devices, currently, only technicians and technologists in Radiology and biomedical doctors, in addition, obviously, to doctors themselves, can exercise control functions of these machines, as they are the only ones trained to do so. It is also seen that there is a need for technicians, technologists and biomedical professionals to always work under medical supervision, preferably by a radiologist.   Alan Skorkowski CBR legal advice