Can leaded glasses protect the eye lens in patients undergoing neck computed tomography?

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Computed tomography (CT) is one of the main sources using ionizing radiation. Considering the toxicity from this radiation, any technique that could reduce the radiosensitive organs' doses without affecting the image diagnostic quality must be considered in routine practice. In this study, the amount of eye lens dose reduction in the presence of radioprotective glasses was evaluated in neck CT examinations. METHODS: Thirty adult patients (15 men and 15 women) with a mean age of 44.6 years undergoing neck CT examination participated in this study. For each patient, six thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs-100) were attached above the eye lens glasses surface, and another six under the glasses to assess the radioprotective effect of the glasses. The TLDs were readout and converted to Hp (3) as an indicator of eye lens dose. The obtained results from the TLD readouts as eye lens dose were compared using a paired t-test. RESULTS: The TLD measurements showed the mean±standard deviation values of 2.97±0.61 mGy and 1.04±0.16 mGy for TLDs above and under the radioprotective glasses, respectively. The radioprotective glasses significantly decreased the eye lens dose by about 64.9% (P=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Due to the results, wearing radioprotective glasses for patients during neck CT scans could significantly reduce the eye lens doses. RELEVANCE FOR PATIENTS: The outcome of this research shows that leaded glasses can decrease the received dose significantly in patient during neck CT scans.

Can Common Lead Apron in Testes Region Cause Radiation Dose Reduction during Chest CT Scan? A Patient Study.

BACKGROUND: Computed tomography (CT) is a routine procedure for diagnosing using ionization radiation which has hazardous effects especially on sensitive organs. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to quantify the dose reduction effect of lead apron shielding on the testicular region during routine chest CT scans. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this measurement study, the routine chest CT examinations were performed for 30 male patients with common lead aprons folded and positioned in testis regions. The patient's mean body mass index (BMI) was 26.2 ± 4.6 kg/m2. To calculate the doses at testis region, three thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD-100) were attached at the top surface of the apron as an indicator of the doses without shielding, and three TLDs under the apron for doses with shielding. The TLD readouts were compared using SPSS software (Wilcoxon test) version 16. RESULTS: The radiation dose in the testicular regions was reduced from 0.46 ± 0.04 to 0.20 ± 0.04 mGy in the presence of lead apron shielding (p < 0.001), the reduction was equal to 56%. Furthermore, the heritable risk probability was obtained at 2.0 ×10-5 % and 4.6 ×10-5 % for the patients using the lead apron shield versus without shield, respectively. CONCLUSION: Applying common lead aprons as shielding in the testis regions of male patients undergoing chest CT scans can reduce the radiation doses significantly. Therefore, this shield can be recommended for routine chest CT examinations.

Evaluating the radioprotective effect of Cimetidine, IMOD, and hybrid radioprotectors agents: An in-vitro study.

INTRODUCTION: There are various radioprotective agents with different mechanisms that help to decrease ionizing radiation side effects. The radioprotective effect of Cimetidine and IMOD was assessed individually and compared with the hybrid radioprotectors agents (HRPAs-IMOD and Cimetidine) on human lymphocyte cells. METHODS: Twenty healthy volunteers (ten men and ten women) participated in the present study. About 75 mL peripheral blood lymphocytes from each individual were collected, and they were divided into 36 groups. Briefly, the blood samples were treated with different concentrations of Cimetidine (12.6 and 25.2 µg/mL) and IMOD (0.04, 0.08, and 0.12 mg/mL), and also a combination of these agents, namely hybrid radioprotectors agents (HRPAs). Besides, the irradiated groups were exposed to 2 and 4 Gy of Co-60 gamma irradiation. The amount of cellular damage was assessed using the micronucleus assay. The repeated measurements and paired T-test statistical analysis were used to compare the micronucleus frequencies in different groups. RESULTS: The micronucleus frequencies were significantly reduced (p < 0.05) in irradiated groups when the non-toxic concentrations of Cimetidine, IMOD, and HRPAs have been used. The reduction in micronucleus frequency was obtained 5-29% for Cimetidine and 40-51% for IMOD in peripheral blood lymphocytes irradiated with 2 Gy. This reduction in 4 Gy irradiation was 8-17% for Cimetidine and 27-37% for IMOD. The HRPAs resulted in a higher radioprotective effect, in a way that they cause up to 58% and 43% micronucleus frequency reduction in 2 and 4 Gy, respectively. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the HRPAs showed the highest level of radioprotective. In addition, IMOD was remarkably higher radioprotective than Cimetidine, which may be related to its greater non-toxic concentrations.

Estimating the whole-body effective dose and health risks as well as introducing a new easy method for eye lens dosimetry in interventional cardiology procedures.

This study aimed to introduce a new method for eye lens thermo-luminescent dosimetry and also estimate the dose associated with induced cancer risk due to the ionizing radiation exposure received by physicians and other staff cooperating in interventional cardiology (IC) procedures. The measurements were performed with six TLDs (thermoluminescent dosimeters): four TLDs for eye lens dosimetry (2 positioned on respiratory/surgical mask under the eye region as the new method; and 2 near the outside border of the eye as the common method) and two TLDs for whole-body dosimetry. Whole-body doses were used to calculate the cancer risks induced by IC procedures. The results of the new proposed method for eye lens dosimetry were similar to common TLD positioning (mean differences <5%) and mask displacement had no significant effect on eye dose measurement in our new method. Our proposed method for eye lens dosimetry is simpler and more comfortable compared to the common method and it can be used as an alternative method without using TLD holders to monitor lens dose for IC workers wearing masks during the procedure. The estimated excess cancer incidence risk induced by IC procedures was 29.58 ± 5.71 and 46.68 ± 7.77 (per 100000 individuals) for men and women, respectively.