Radiation exposure of patients and staff working in angiography and interventional radiology unit

Abstract

Catheter angiography and interventional radiologic procedures are the medical applications with the highest exposure to radiation. The projection used, in other words the irradiated region of the patient, constantly changes and the change in irradiation geometry due to the movements of the image amplifier is another important factor. Irradiation can be achieved in the form of continuous (fluoroscopic) or sequential static images (filming). In these irradiations the kVp, mA and irradiation time of the system change continuously depending on the patient thickness. The aim of this study was to determine the dose of radiation the staff working in Angiography and Interventional Radiology unit and the patients undergoing intervention were exposed to and to discuss the measures to decrease the dose of radiation. In this study, the dose values of 129 patients and three physicians and two radiotechnologists working in the unit were determined. In order to evaluate the radiation doses of the employees, radiation doses were measured with Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dosimeters over a period of six months. Doses of the patients during the procedure were measured separately. Total bimonthly and annual dose amounts were determined for the physicians as chest (collar), belt and wrist with the help of OSL dosimeters. Likewise, total bimonthly and annual dose amounts of radiotechnologists were measured as breast (neck) and belt. It was found that the duration of fluoroscopy was 2-3 times higher in radiological procedures than in diagnostic angiography and therefore the patient and radiologist were exposed to more radiation. The exposure radiation dose can be significantly decreased by reducing the number of frames per second during both fluoroscopy and filming. 

Keywords

• Equivalent dose,Interventional radiology,OSL dosimeter,Radiology staff,X-rays

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