Doses to the eyes of interventional radiologists and cardiologists could exceed the annual limit of 20 mSv proposed by the International Commission on Radiological Protection. Lead glasses of various designs are available to provide protection, but standard eye dosemeters will not take account of the protection they provide. The aim of this study has been to derive dose reduction factors (DRFs) equal to the ratio of the dose with no eyewear, divided by that when lead glasses are worn. Thirty sets of protective eyewear have been tested in x-ray fields using anthropomorphic phantoms to simulate the patient and clinician in two centres. The experiments performed have determined DRFs from simulations of interventional procedures by measuring doses to the eyes of the phantom representing the clinician, using TLDs in Glasgow, Scotland and with an electronic dosemeter in Gothenburg, Sweden. During interventional procedures scattered x-rays arising from the patient will be incident on the head of the clinician from below and to the side. DRFs for x-rays incident on the front of lead glasses vary from 5.2 to 7.6, while values for orientations similar to those used in the majority of clinical practice are between 1.4 and 5.2. Specialised designs with lead glass side shields or of a wraparound style with angled lenses performed better than lead glasses based on the design of standard spectacles. Results suggest that application of a DRF of 2 would provide a conservative factor that could be applied to personal dosemeter measurements to account for the dose reduction provided by any type of lead glasses provided certain criteria relating to design and consistency of use are applied.

Optimisation of radiological protection for operators working with fluoroscopically guided procedures has to be performed during the procedure, under varying and difficult conditions. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of a system for real-time visualisation of radiation dose rate on optimisation of occupational radiological protection in fluoroscopically guided procedures. Individual radiation dose measurements, using a system for real-time visualisation, were performed in a cardiology laboratory for three cardiologists and ten assisting nurses. Radiation doses collected when the radiation dose rates were not displayed to the staff were compared to radiation doses collected when the radiation dose rates were displayed. When the radiation dose rates were displayed to the staff, one cardiologist and the assisting nurses (as a group) significantly reduced their personal radiation doses. The median radiation dose (Hp(10)) per procedure decreased from 68 to 28 μSv (p = 0.003) for this cardiologist and from 4.3 to 2.5 μSv (p = 0.001) for the assisting nurses. The results of the present study indicate that a system for real-time visualisation of radiation dose rate may have a positive impact on optimisation of occupational radiological protection. In particular, this may affect the behaviour of staff members practising inadequate personal radiological protection.

Doses to the eyes of interventional clinicians can exceed 20 mSv. Various protective devices can afford protection to the eyes with the final barrier being protective eyewear. The protection provided by lead glasses is difficult to quantify, and the majority of dosimeters are not designed to be worn under lead glasses. This study has measured dose reduction factors (DRFs) equal to the ratio of the dose with no protection, divided by that when lead glasses are worn. Glasses have been tested in X-ray fields using anthropomorphic phantoms to simulate the patient and clinician. DRFs for X-rays incident from the front vary from 5.2 to 7.6, while values for orientations reminiscent of clinical practice are between 1.4 and 5.2. Results suggest that a DRF of two is a conservative factor that could be applied to personal dosimeter measurements to account for the dose reduction provided by most types of lead glasses.