Lead equivalence testing using a custom-built testing kit.

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiation Protection
• Materials Science

Background:

• Radiation protective garments require rigorous quality assurance, including lead equivalence testing.
• International standards like IEC 61331-1:2014 guide lead equivalence testing methodologies.
• Hospital garments increasingly use lightweight lead-free or composite materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and develop an IEC-compliant broad beam lead equivalence testing setup.
• To evaluate the practicality and robustness of a custom-built testing kit (CBTK).
• To assess the lead equivalence of both pure lead and lead-free (N-Pb) garment materials.

Main Methods:

• Developed an in-house custom-built testing kit (CBTK) for IEC 61331-1:2014 compliance.
• Tested the CBTK using 97% pure lead sheets and lead-free (N-Pb) samples.
• Utilized two beam qualities (2.5 mmAl and 0.25 mmCu filtration at 102 kVp) and various sample thicknesses.

Main Results:

• The CBTK demonstrated high accuracy, with a differential of only 3% between labelled and measured lead equivalence.
• Uncertainty in measurements was consistently below 7%.
• Filtration type (Cu vs. Al) had a marginal effect on measured lead equivalence at 102 kVp.

Conclusions:

• The custom-built testing kit (CBTK) is effective for lead equivalence testing of radiation protective garments.
• The CBTK offers ease of use, consistency, and precision for quality assurance.
• The study validates the CBTK for both traditional lead and modern lead-free materials.