Optimization of radiation doses received by personnel in PET uptake rooms

Reduction of dose to exposed personnel during positron emission tomography (PET) installation usually relies on physical shielding. While the major contribution of shielding is unquestioned, it is usually the only method applied. Other methods of reduction, such as working procedure optimization, the position of the furniture, and rooms are usually disregarded in these installations. This paper presents a design and work optimization procedure used in a particular institution. The influence on the dose received by personnel due to the positioning of injection chairs, injection room configuration, and working procedures is studied. Using this optimization strategy, it is possible to reduce the technician dose due to patients by a factor of 0.59. Injection room design is much more important for optimizing the received dose than is work-flow management. The influence of the order of patient entrance on received dose was the aspect that produced the smallest variation in received doses. It is recommended that the optimization be carried out for the installation proposed in the design phase, when no additional cost is required, because the position of the doors of the injection rooms depends on the where the injection chairs are situated.