Radiation exposure to personnel during fluoroscopic procedures : Strålningsmiljö för personal under genomlysningsarbete

Abstract: There are about 17 million X-ray procedures performed in Sweden every year. Various methods are used to determine the risk for the patient, and for the staff. The objective of this project was to map X-ray scatter coming out of a patient as a result of interactions between the radiation and body tissue during certain medical procedures that involve fluoroscopy. Flouroscopy is a type of X-ray imaging method that generates a moving picture which allows an operator to view in-body procedures live. A successfully created map of the radiation field can work as a tool for risk analysis concerning the dose of radiation of which the medical staff is exposed to, this parameter will later be described as the effective dose (E). The effective dose is a tool for assessment of the risk of developing lethal cancer due to radiation exposure. This report will also investigate the radiation that reaches the eye lens of the staff, since the maximum recommended dosage for the eye lens has been lowered recently when it was discovered that the eye lens was more sensitive to radiation than previously known. In this report data was collected from radiation exposure situations, and it was concluded that distance is a good protector against radiation, which agree well with theory discussed in the report. Another theory which was discussed in the paper states that positions behind the X-ray tube will be exposed to the highest amount of radiation, this was also proven. The measured data from investigating protective equipment showed that the equipment in place was effective.