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Monte Carlo simulations of occupational radiation doses in interventional radiology

STUK – Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, PO Box 14, FIN-00881 Helsinki, Finland

View larger version (18K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 1. On the left(a), the radiologist performing a cardiac procedure with the lead apron and the trunk of the patient, viewed from above. The grey square indicates the position of the X-ray field. On the right (b), the same arrangement is viewed from the left-hand side of the radiologist. The position of the thyroid is indicated by the black rectangle. The coordinate system and the (suggestive) length scale are indicated in the figure. Here, the focal spot of the X-ray tube (black dot) is at z = –70 cm and corresponds to the posteroanterior (PA) projection. The primary X-ray beam is indicated by the dashed cone. The external personal dosimeter is indicated with a grey sphere.

View larger version (10K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 2. Definition of the projections used in this work. The arrows indicate the direction of the primary X-ray beam. The focal point of the X-ray tube is located on the dashed ellipse. The positions of the patient trunk and head (not to scale) are shown by black ovals (the view is towards the feet of the patient, to the negative x-axis direction). See Figure 1 for details on coordinate system and positioning of the patient and radiologist. Abbreviations for the projections are: PA, posteroanterior; LLAT, left lateral; RLAT, right lateral; AP, anteroposterior; RAO, right anterior oblique; RPO, right posterior oblique projection. For the latter two projections, "30" refers to the angle in degrees between the projection and the AP and PA directions, respectively.

View larger version (13K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 3. Organ doses without the apron divided by the dose with the apron and thyroid shield for stomach, brain, testicles and skin for different exposure conditions(Table 1). Open circles are EN/EAT from Table 4. Lines are drawn only to guide the eye.

View larger version (11K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 4. Ratio of personal dose equivalentHp(10) calculated in the right breast to that calculated in the left breast (without the apron) for the cardiac procedures. Exposure conditions are indicated below each data point and on the horizontal axis (Table 1). One sigma error bars represent the statistical uncertainty of the ratio. For abbreviations, see Figure 1.