Assessment of the occupational dose and radiogenic risk in diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine examinations

With the rapid development of medical imaging equipment and applications of radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, the exposure of staff and patients to radiation doses becomes increasingly an alarming issue.

This study aimed at estimating the effective dose during radiologic and nuclear medicine examinations of patients, based on their administered dose activity. In parallel, the staff doses were also assessed using thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs). The staff members, specifically dealing with 99mTc, were also investigated for their eye lens dose exposure and radiogenic risk.

The mean of occupational annual dose for the whole body, Hp(10),  during the examinations of standard radiography, computed tomography (CT), interventional cardiology, and nuclear medicine were estimated to be 0.33, 0.31, 0.81, and 11.6 mSv, respectively. The annual exposure of eye lens dose, Hp(3), from 99mTc medicine examinations ranged from 4.9 to 11.8 mSv.

In this study, the Hp(3) for medical staff, at the nuclear medicine department, was evaluated by measuring the Hp(10). The doses reported in this study were interestingly found to be less than the annual dose limits recommended by the concerned international organizations.