A practical method for skin dose estimation in interventional cardiology based on fluorographic DICOM information

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiology
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Interventional cardiology procedures can deliver high skin doses, posing a risk of deterministic skin injury.
• Current methods for estimating skin dose have uncertainties, especially concerning radiation field overlap.
• Accurate dose estimation is crucial for pre-procedure planning and post-procedure patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a practical and accurate method for estimating patient skin dose in interventional cardiology.
• To reduce uncertainties in skin dose calculation, particularly related to radiation field overlap.
• To provide a tool for improved pre-procedure planning and post-procedure patient follow-up.

Main Methods:

• Developed a method using a spherical patient model and polar coordinates to quantify radiation field geometry.
• Utilized computer-assisted design (CAD) software for modeling and generated a dataset.
• Validated the model's overlap calculations against radiochromic film measurements.
• Compared mathematical models with exposure data from Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine (DICOM) files.

Main Results:

• The developed model demonstrated high accuracy, with overlap agreement within 2.2° ± 2.0° compared to film measurements.
• The overall error associated with the modeling approach was less than 1%.
• Dosimetric accuracy of the software ranged from 3.5% to 17% across different variables, creating a graphical skin dose map.

Conclusions:

• The practical method provides a reliable approach for estimating skin dose in interventional cardiology.
• The technique effectively models radiation field overlap, reducing uncertainty in dose assessment.
• This method supports better patient safety through informed planning and management of radiation exposure.