On the safety of persons accompanying nuclear medicine patients

Abstract

The presence of caretakers/comforters during nuclear medicine examinations is relatively common. These caretakers receive higher doses than the general public, who receive only environmental/background exposure. The aim of this research was to know about the doses received by two significant groups of caretakers: comforters of cancer patients (Group I) and mothers of small children (Group II). The patients were scheduled to undergo two different diagnostic studies: Inmuno-Scintigraphy using a monoclonal antibody bound to (99m)Tc (for adults) and Renal Scintigraphy using (99m)Tc-dimercaptosuccinic acid (for children). The average effective doses were 0.27 and 0.29 mSv for Groups I and II, respectively. Additionally, environmental monitoring was performed in the waiting room for injected patients (Room I) and inside the procedure room (Room II). Equivalent environmental doses of 0.28 and 0.24 mSv for Rooms 1 and II, respectively, were found, which are similar to values reported by other authors.

Radiation safety measures in diagnostic nuclear medicine, based on the potential radiation dose emitted by radioactive patients

“…which require the administration of much smaller quantities of radionuclides, because whole-body excretion of the radionuclides is more rapid and the level of wholebody radiation emitted is lower (3)(4)(5)(6)(7) . Unfortunately, there have been few studies investigating the real potential for exposure from radioactive patients after such diagnostic procedures.…”

Radiation protection for comforters and carers in radiology and nuclear medicine

“…Diagnostic NM procedures can potentially produce higher radiation exposure than radiology. Despite the limited recent research on the topic, a study by Díaz Barreto et al 7 . investigated two scenarios where a carer's exposure could be high and found that the dose was unlikely to exceed 1 mSv.…”

Assessment of Residual Radioactivity by a Comprehensive Wireless, Wearable Device in Thyroid Cancer Patients Undergoing Radionuclide Therapy and Comparison With the Results of a Home Device: A Feasibility Study

“…The use of a mobile, wearable device during daily patient activities would provide instantaneous samples of the emitted radiation as well as repeated and accurate measures continuously. This approach would also allow both the optimization of professionals’ exposure and better sampling accuracy, which translates to safer patient discharge [8] – [10] . There is technological evidence for implementing wireless devices (WDs) in protected, controlled areas with restricted access by means of portable tools easily worn by patients, which constitutes an opportunity to support the appropriate management of nuclear medicine units.…”