(a) “Department” means the Mississippi State Department of Health.

(b) “Licensed practitioner” means a person licensed or otherwise authorized by law to practice medicine, dentistry, chiropractic, osteopathy or podiatry, or a licensed nurse practitioner or physician assistant.

(c) “Ionizing radiation” means x-rays and gamma rays, alpha and beta particles, high-speed electrons, neutrons and other nuclear particles.

(d) “X-radiation” means penetrating electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than ten (10) nanometers produced by bombarding a metallic target with fast electrons in a vacuum.

(e) “Supervision” means responsibility for, and control of, quality radiation safety and protection, and technical aspects of the application of ionizing radiation to human beings for diagnostic and/or therapeutic purposes.

(f) “Medical radiation technology” means the science and art of applying ionizing radiation to human beings for diagnostic and/or therapeutic purposes. The four (4) specialized disciplines of medical radiation technology are diagnostic radiologic technology, nuclear medicine technology, radiation therapy and limited x-ray machine operator.

(g) “Radiologic technologist” means a person other than a licensed practitioner who has passed a national certification examination recognized by the department such as the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists examination or its equivalent, who applies x-radiation or ionizing radiation to any part of the human body for diagnostic purposes and includes the administration of parenteral and enteral contrast media and administration of other medications or procedures incidental to radiologic examinations.

(h) “Nuclear medicine technologist” means a person other than a licensed practitioner who has passed a national certification examination recognized by the department such as the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists examination or the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board examination or its equivalent, who performs in vivo imaging and measurement procedures and in vitro nonimaging laboratory studies, prepares radiopharmaceuticals, and administers diagnostic/therapeutic doses of radiopharmaceuticals and administers other medications or procedures incidental for nuclear medicine exams to human beings while under the supervision of a licensed practitioner who is licensed to possess and use radioactive material. A certified nuclear medicine technologist also may perform diagnostic CT exams on hybrid equipment for diagnostic purposes, including the administration of parenteral and enteral contrast media and administration of other medications or procedures incidental to CT exams. Certified nuclear medicine technologists who perform CT scans must be certified in CT by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists, the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board, or other CT certifying body. A certified nuclear medicine technologist may do on-the-job training on hybrid equipment provided that the certified nuclear medicine technologist is supervised by a certified technologist and obtains a CT certification within six (6) months of that training.

(i) “Radiation therapist” means a person other than a licensed practitioner who has passed a national certification examination recognized by the department such as the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists examination or its equivalent, who applies x-radiation and the ionizing radiation emitted from particle accelerators, cobalt sixty (60) units and sealed sources of radioactive material to human beings for therapeutic purposes while under the supervision of a licensed radiation oncologist or a board-certified radiologist who is licensed to possess and use radioactive material.

(j) “Limited x-ray machine operator” means a person other than a licensed practitioner or radiologic technologist who is issued a permit by the State Board of Medical Licensure to perform medical radiation technology limited to specific radiographic procedures on certain parts of the human anatomy, specifically the chest, abdomen and skeletal structures, and excluding fluoroscopic, both stationary and mobile (C-arm), and contrast studies, computed tomography, nuclear medicine, radiation therapy studies and mammography.

(k) “Council” means the Medical Radiation Advisory Council created under Section 41-58-3.