Occupational dose measurement in interventional cardiology practice

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Occupational Health
• Radiology

Background:

• Healthcare workers in interventional cardiology face occupational radiation exposure risks.
• Effective monitoring of radiation doses is crucial for ensuring worker safety.
• Current dosimetric methods vary in complexity and accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy of single over-apron dosimetric methods compared to double dosimetric methods.
• To investigate the correlation between under-apron and over-apron radiation doses.
• To determine the feasibility of using simplified dosimetric approaches in interventional cardiology.

Main Methods:

• Comparison of single over-apron dosimetry with double dosimetric methods.
• Analysis of the relationship between under-apron and over-apron radiation doses.
• Statistical correlation analysis of different dosimetric algorithms and direct dose measurements.

Main Results:

• Maximum annual occupational doses determined by algorithms were well below the 20 mSv year-1 constraint (0.13–0.27 mSv).
• Excellent statistically significant correlations were found between single and double dosimetric algorithms.
• Strong correlations were observed between direct under-apron and over-apron doses.

Conclusions:

• Single dosimetric algorithms can effectively estimate doses measured by double dosimetric algorithms.
• Under-apron measurements offer limited added value compared to over-apron dosimetry.
• Findings support simplified radiation monitoring practices in interventional cardiology, enhancing radiation protection.