Protocol for measurement of patient entrance surface dose rates for fluoroscopic X-ray equipment

While patient entrance surface dose rate is an important indicator of dose performance for fluoroscopic units, there has been no standardized approach to measuring this. Since results are strongly dependent on the type of phantom used and the relative positions of the X-ray tube, intensifier and phantom, comparisons of the performance for different units are difficult to make. This document sets out a protocol for making these measurements using a standard phantom and standard configurations for different types of X-ray unit Values of dose rates which might be expected are given.