Patient radiation doses during cardiac catheterization procedures

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiology
• Cardiology

Background:

• Patient radiation dose assessment is crucial in interventional cardiology procedures.
• Cardiac procedures like coronary angiography and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) involve significant radiation exposure.
• Accurate dose monitoring is essential for patient safety and optimizing radiation protection strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the radiation dose received by patients undergoing cardiac procedures.
• To quantify the contribution of different fluoroscopic techniques to the overall patient dose.
• To establish a conversion factor for estimating effective dose from dose-area product (DAP) measurements.

Main Methods:

• Utilized calibrated Thermoluminescent Dosemeters (TLDs) to measure skin dose at four anatomical locations.
• Employed a Dose-Area Product (DAP) meter to assess cumulative radiation exposure.
• Estimated the DAP to effective dose conversion factor using a Rando phantom.

Main Results:

• Cinefluorography contributed more to the total DAP than fluoroscopy.
• A DAP to effective dose conversion factor of 0.183 mSv Gy⁻¹ cm⁻² was determined.
• Mean effective doses varied by procedure: 5.6 mSv (coronary angiography), 6.9 mSv (PTCA), 9.3 mSv (coronary angiography + ad hoc PTCA), 9.0 mSv (PTCA + stent), and 13.0 mSv (coronary angiography + ad hoc PTCA + stent).

Conclusions:

• The study successfully assessed patient effective doses during various cardiac interventions.
• The findings provide valuable data for radiation risk management in interventional cardiology.
• Accurate dose estimation is feasible using TLDs and DAP measurements with established conversion factors.