[Radiation dose measurement of the patient in interventional radiology using a transmission ionization chamber]

We propose a method to estimate patient radiation dose in radiologically guided interventional procedures using a transmission ionization chamber. A typical transarterial embolization (TAE) procedure for hepatocellular carcinoma was simulated, including 30 minutes of fluoroscopy and five series of DSA, each with appropriate collimation. The dose-area product was divided by the area and compared with values from a standard dosimeter placed in the center of the radiation entrance, to obtain a conversion factor. In this way, the entrance skin dose can be estimated immediately after the procedure by simply multiplying the value by the conversion factor, if the procedure roughly conforms to the simulated model. The average entrance skin dose of 33 patients who recently underwent TAE for HCC was found to be 0.66 (0.19-1.75) Gy. This technique can be applied to other areas of IVR and may help to reduce patient exposure to radiation.