Typical effective dose values from diagnostic and interventional radiology

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiology
• Radiation Protection

Background:

• Effective dose (E) is crucial for comparing radiation exposure across diverse medical procedures.
• Current measurable dose quantities limit direct comparison of radiation doses from different imaging modalities.
• Standardized estimation of E is needed for radiation safety and procedure justification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate and compare effective dose (E) values for 12 common medical imaging procedures.
• To provide a basis for justifying radiation protection techniques in diagnostic imaging.
• To compare estimated E values with existing literature data.

Main Methods:

• Survey and estimation of effective dose (E) values.
• Comparison of E across conventional X-ray, cardiac interventional radiology, dental radiology, and mammography.
• Analysis of mean E values in millisieverts (mSv) and microsieverts (μSv).

Main Results:

• Mean E varied from 0.01 mSv (skull lateral X-ray) to 0.5 mSv (abdominal X-ray).
• Cardiac interventional radiology procedures, like percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), reached up to 16 mSv.
• Dental radiology showed mean E of 1.2 μSv (intraoral) and 10 μSv (panoramic); mammography averaged 0.5 mSv.
• Chest PA, lumbar spine AP, PTCA, and mammography procedures exhibited higher E values compared to literature.

Conclusions:

• The study provides practical effective dose (E) values for various medical imaging procedures.
• Results facilitate the justification of imaging techniques and radiation protection measures.
• Significant variations in E highlight the need for optimized radiation protocols in different procedures.