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Equivalent dose to the fetus from occupational exposure of pregnant staff in diagnostic radiology

¹Princess Margaret Hospital, Department of Clinical Physics, 610 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada and ²Regional Medical Physics Department, Newcastle General Hospital, Westgate Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE4 6BE, UK

The protection of the unborn children of pregnant women from ionizing radiations is very important because the fetus is particularly vulnerable to the effects of ionizing radiation. From the radiation protection perspective, the International Commission on Radiological Protection regards the unborn child as a member of the public when considering the occupational exposure of pregnant workers. The determination of the equivalent dose to the unborn child in diagnostic radiology is of interest as a basis for risk estimates from occupational exposures of the pregnant worker. In this paper, coefficients for converting dosemeter readings to equivalent dose to the fetus have been calculated using Monte Carlo simulation. X-ray transport was simulated by tracing individual photons through soft tissue phantoms. Equivalent dose to the uterus was used to simulate the equivalent dose to the fetus during the first 2 months of pregnancy. The Monte Carlo model was validated experimentally by direct measurements made in an Alderson female Rando phantom for a range of irradiation conditions. The two sets of data indicated good agreement with the Monte Carlo results, being relatively greater than the experimental results to a maximum of about 15%.