Thank you to USRT study participants!

The U.S. Radiologic Technologists (USRT) Study continues to be the largest health study of medical radiation workers ever conducted. We could not do this study without your help!

Over the past 25 years, we have conducted three major surveys of current and former radiologic technologists to collect information about occupational and personal medical radiation, health outcomes, and other factors that affect health. In 1998 we began collecting blood samples from participants, with and without cancer, so that we could assess the role of genetics, alone or in conjunction with radiation, when studying health outcomes.

To date, over 110,000 technologists have participated in one or more of our surveys and nearly 6,000 have also donated a sample of blood. The on-going involvement of so many radiologic technologists and the high level of participation is a testament to the commitment of the participants and is critical to the success of the study and validity of the study results.

An exciting new area of our research pertains to the production of vitamin D from the sun and how it affects health. In the coming year, we will be contacting participants, from across the country in different seasons, to invite them to donate a sample of blood so that we can look at how sun exposure relates to vitamin D. This will help improve the understanding of how vitamin D is related to cancer and other health conditions. If you are contacted about donating a blood sample, we hope you will choose to participate.

As we go forward, we will continue to keep you informed of study progress through updates on this website and periodic newsletters. As a participant, you can be assured that your confidentiality and data will always be protected. None of our reports identify individual participants. We only provide statistical summaries.

Thank you for being a part of this important health study for radiologic technologists—today and in the future!