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Doses in the vicinity of mobile X-ray equipment in a children's intensive care unit
D Milković1, M Ranogajec-Komor, Z Ivanovi-Herceg
1Hospital of Lung Diseases for the Children and Youth, Zagreb, Croatia.
Insights
Radiation exposure for children near patients undergoing X-rays in pediatric intensive care is minimal. Measurements confirmed very low doses, posing no significant risk for genetic, leukemogenic, or cancerogenic detriment.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Intensive Care Medicine
- Medical Imaging Physics
- Radiation Safety
Background:
- Pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) frequently treat newborns and infants with central nervous system, systemic septic, and respiratory infections.
- Mobile X-ray equipment and shielding are essential for diagnostic procedures in PICUs, including respiratory tract imaging and endovascular catheterization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify radiation exposure levels for children located near patients undergoing X-ray examinations within the same or adjacent rooms in a pediatric intensive care setting.
Main Methods:
- Three measurement series were conducted using a thermoluminescence dosimetry system.
- Dosimetry measurements assessed radiation levels in the vicinity of patients undergoing mobile X-ray procedures.
Main Results:
- The homogeneity of the X-ray irradiation field was found to be adequate.
- Radiation exposure to children in proximity to the examined patient was extremely low, near the limit of detection.
- The entrance dose to the patient's breast was measured at 0.07 mSv.
Conclusions:
- The measured radiation doses to nearby children are negligible.
- There is no discernible basis for estimating genetic, leukemogenic, or cancerogenic risks to children in the vicinity.
Abstract:
Most of the patients in the intensive care unit for children are newborns and infants having an infection of the central nervous system, with systemic septic and respiratory infections. Therefore, mobile X-ray equipment including mobile shields is routinely used for diagnosis of the respiratory tract, heart and endovascular catheterization. The aim of this work was to determine the radiation exposure to the children in the vicinity of the exposed patient in the same or next room. Three measurement runs were carried out with thermoluminescence dosimetry system. The results show that the homogeneity of the irradiation field is adequate, the exposure of children to radiation in the vicinity of the exposed patient in the same or next room is very low, practically in the range of the lowest detectable dose. The entrance dose on the breast of the patient was found to be 0.07 mSv. Therefore, there is no basis for the risk estimation of genetic, leukemogenic and cancerogenic detriment.