[Can hand radiation absorbed dose from radiosynomicronvectomy be high?]

Preparing and injecting radiopharmaceuticals containing beta emitting radionuclides, for radiosynovectomy (RS), implies the risk of exceeding the upper limit of skin and hand radiation absorbed dose, of 500 mSv/year to both technologists, who prepare and to doctors, who inject these radiopharmacuticals. A high number of RS treatments per day lack of effective radiation protection devices and skin contamination, increase the skin radiation absorbed dose. Pronounced dosimetric and radiation protection data for radionuclides used for RS, like yttrium-90, erbium-169, rhenium-186, dysprosium-165 and holmium-166, indicate the risk and the rationale for minimizing skin radiation doses to the hands of technologists and to doctors. Hands and skin radiation exposure is mainly due to direct beta radiation from yttrium-90 containing syringes. However skin contamination, may increase this dose independently of the radionuclide used for RS. Using a syringe shield with 5 mm perspex and holding the syringe by forceps, especially for the fixation of the needle to the syringe, beta radiation exposure to the finger tips may be reduced effectively. The use of radiation-resistant gloves reduces beta radiation dose to the skin only slightly, but offers a much better protection than Latex gloves for radioactive contamination. In this article we report measurements performed by us, underlining aspects of the most effective syringe shielding applied for RS. For reducing hands beta radiation exposure during RS the following are proposed: a) To use radiation protection devices, like manipulators and perspex syringe shields and b) Special training of the personnel for the proper handling of doses and for the removal of possible contamination from beta-emitting radionuclides and c) To use beta radiation personal ring dosimeters.