The Dose-area Product and Assessment of the Occupational Dose in Interventional Radiology

Abstract

This study used dose-area product (DAP) data to determine the relationship between the dose received by radiologists and the DAP. The working conditions were simulated by phantom measurements. The doses of scattered radiation were measured using various scattering angles, distances and tube voltages. The calculated doses of scattered radiation were compared with the measured doses of scattered radiation. To test the validity of using such data for assessing occupational doses, the scatter dose on the radiologist or cardiologist was calculated from the DAP using the measured scatter factors. The dose to the lenses of the eyes may exceed the annual limit, and may therefore restrict the number of interventional procedures. A relation between the DAP and the occupational dose is difficult to establish, especially because staff doses are associated with the use of protective devices, positions of projections with respect to the patient, and working methods. However, the DAP may provide a good reference value for the dosimetric monitoring of staff.

Evaluation of a Suspended Personal Radiation Protection System vs. Conventional Apron and Shields in Clinical Interventional Procedures

“…To facilitate comparison across the literature, operator exposure was standardized to Total Patient DAP, which is a widely accepted reporting method that reflects the protective power of the shielding, and minimizes effects of uncontrolled variables [22,29,32,33]. Similar to our LAS group, other reports showed high case-to-case variance of DAP-standardized operator exposures due to the dynamic factors of clinical practice [29].…”

Occupational radiation doses to the extremities and the eyes in interventional radiology and cardiology procedures

“…Indeed, unsuitable use of protective tools or bad practice (e.g. placing the hands directly in the X-ray beam) could lead to high doses at unexpected positions and poor correlation among dosimetric data [9,10]. Thus, it is important to assess radiation doses to the upper and lower extremities and the lenses of the eyes in order to ensure that the annual dose limits are not exceeded.…”

¿Es eficiente la protección anti-radiación otorgada por gorros de pabellón de tungsteno-bismuto en cardiología intervencionista?

“…(ThermoFisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA). El producto dosis-área (DAP, dose-area product) se define como el producto del área transversal del haz de rayos X y el promedio Kerma aire (energía cinética entregada a la materia) sobre la sección transversal y es ampliamente utilizado para evaluar la dosis del paciente en procedimientos radiográficos y fluoroscópicos, pero también puede ser usado para evaluar la magnitud de las dosis ocupacionales recibidas por el staff médico 11 . Las unidades en que se expresa este tipo de dosis son: Cycm2, cCycm2, mCycm2 y µCym2, en esta investigación se utilizara el µCym.…”