Assessment of radiation doses to cardiologists during interventional examinations

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiological Protection
• Cardiology

Background:

• Cardiologists performing interventional cardiac procedures are exposed to ionizing radiation.
• Accurate estimation of occupational radiation doses is crucial for implementing effective radiation protection measures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the accuracy of two on-line dosimetric techniques for estimating cardiologist radiation doses.
• To establish a database correlating cardiologist extremity doses with patient dose-area product (DAP) values.
• To compare calculated cardiologist doses with measured values using a second method.

Main Methods:

• Method 1: Established a database by measuring doses of nine cardiologists and patient DAP during 166 interventional cardiac examinations across five departments.
• Measured mean doses to eyes, thyroid, waist, wrists, and legs per procedure.
• Calculated effective doses considering protective tools.
• Method 2: Measured scatter doses using a Rando phantom under conditions similar to patient procedures.
• Calculated cardiologist doses based on phantom exposures and patient examination parameters.

Main Results:

• Mean doses per procedure: eyes 72.4 µGy, thyroid 68.5 µGy, waist 11.2 µGy, wrists 67.8–216 µGy, legs 137–384 µGy.
• Mean effective dose: 12.14 µSv/procedure.
• Staff dose to patient DAP ratios ranged from 0.14 to 3.75.
• Second method involved calculating and comparing doses with measured values.

Conclusions:

• Both investigated on-line dosimetric techniques show accuracy in estimating cardiologist radiation doses.
• The established database and scatter dose calculation methods provide valuable tools for occupational radiation monitoring in cardiology.
• Findings support the implementation of robust radiation safety protocols for healthcare professionals in interventional cardiology.