Assessment of eye and body dose for interventional radiologists, cardiologists, and other interventional staff

Abstract

A dose limit for the eye of 20 mSv, as proposed by the ICRP, could be exceeded by interventional clinicians. Data on eye dose levels for interventional radiologists and cardiologists provided by medical physicists from hospitals around the UK have been collated. The results indicate that most hospitals would require one or more interventional clinicians to be classified and several would have exceeded a 20 mSv limit. Dose data in the literature have been reviewed to derive factors that might be used to predict eye dose levels based on dose per procedure or kerma-area product workload. These could be used in prior risk assessments to establish monitoring practice. An alternative approach to personnel dose monitoring in radiology applications using a collar dosimeter worn outside the lead apron as the first dosimeter is proposed. The collar dosimeter would provide an assessment of eye dose in terms of Hp(3) and body dose in terms of Hp(10), which could be divided by ten to provide an assessment of effective dose. If Hp(3) exceeded 1 mSv per month, regular monitoring with a head dosimeter would be recommended, and if Hp(10) exceeded 2 mSv per month, then an under-apron dosimeter should also be worn.