Radiation shielding calculation for interventional radiology: An updated workload survey using a dose monitoring software.

ABSTRACT

Shielding design is an essential aspect of radiation protection. It is necessary to ensure that barriers safeguard workers, patients, the general public, and the environment from the harmful radiation emitted by X-ray machines. The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) 147 method is widely accepted within the radiation protection experts' (RPEs) community for structural shielding design for medical X-ray imaging facilities. However, these indications are based on data collected in 1996. In recent years, interventional radiology procedures have seen significant developments. Therefore, it is important to evaluate whether updating the data on workload in the different specialities is necessary. We extracted all interventional radiology exposure data parameters from three angiographs from two vendors using dose monitoring software for 3066 procedures and 214,697 individual exposures. The workload distribution as a function of the kVp for five interventional rooms was calculated by summing all exposures and then normalising them by the number of patients. Analysing this data, we obtained new transmission curves through lead, concrete and gypsum wallboard, finding the parameters (α, ß, and γ) in the Archer equation for the secondary radiation. Finally, our aim was to share an example of shielding calculations for haemodynamics and neuroangiography rooms to illustrate the impact of updated transmission data.