Radiation Protection Assessment of medical staff

P. Ferrari, G. Gualdrini, F. Mariotti, B. Morelli, E. Fantuzzi ENEA – Radiation Protection Institute, Bologna (Italy)

Contribution to the “Italy in Japan 2011” initiative Science, Technology and Innovation

Scenarios –Interventional X-ray

• In interventional radiology and cardiology procedures the medical staff is likely to receive significant radiation doses to their hands and parts of their body not covered with protective equipment (as legs and forearms) because physicians work close to X-ray field.

Scenarios – Nuclear Medicine

• In nuclear medicine practices the dose to the hands is the main issue, especially when unsealed sources are used.

ORAMED-Project • ORAMED, Optimization of RAdiation protection for MEDical

staff is a collaborative project funded in 2008 within the 7th EU Framework Programme, Euratom Programme for Nuclear Research and training.

• ORAMED WAS DIVIDED IN 5 Work Packages

WP1 Coordinator: Greek Atomic Energy Commission Participants: GAEC, SCK, ENEA, IRSN, CHUV, SMU, NIOM Specific objectives: To study the parameters that influence the extremity doses for the medical staff in Interventional Radiology (IR) and Interventional Cardiology (IC) To perform a systematic study of measurements and simulations in selected IR and IC procedures in order to study extremity and eye lens doses of medical staff To propose a methodology for reducing the doses of medical staff

WP1 A) a numerical model employed to simulate the irradiation scenario encountered in interventional radiology and cardiology; B) one of the members of the medical staff equipped with the dosemeters at wrists and hands to detect extremity doses during the radiological practice; C) the investigated scenario.

WP1

Example of simulation and practical results obtained during the project

WP2 Coordinator: ENEA Radiation Protection Institute Bologna Participants: ENEA, RADCARD, GAEC, CEA, NIOM, SCK Specific objectives: Development of a formalism to measure eye lens doses (via the theoretical study of the operational quantity Hp(3) for the eye lens and its practical implementation) Design and development of new practical dosemeters that are suitable to respond in terms of Hp(3) (measurement of eye lens dose)

WP2

Numerical model to study the Operational Quantity

WP2

Example of the studies performed during the project and of the prototype

WP3 Coordinator: Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety Participants: IRSN, MGPI, CEA, SCK, UPC, CHUV Specific objectives: To optimize the use of active personal dosemeters (APDs) in interventional radiology

ENEA (Italy) did not take part to WP3

WP3

A) the active personal dosemeters tested in laboratory, in metrological condition; B) a physician equipped with passive (TLD) and active dosemeters to be tested during routine practice; C) an image of the tests performed in the hospitals.

WP4 Coordinator: University Hospital Center Vaudois (CHUV) Participants: CHUV, IRSN, UPC, SMU, SCK, ENEA, BfS Specific objectives: To evaluate extremity doses (and dose distributions across the hands) of medical staff working in nuclear medicine To study the influence of protective devices such as syringe and vial shields and to improve such devices when possible To propose “levels of reference doses” for each standard nuclear medicine procedure and to use these for risk assessment and optimization of working methods To propose a methodology to reduce dose to nuclear medicine workers

WP4

A) a picture showing the radiopharmaceuticals administration to the patient ; B) a couple of the numerical models employed for the simulations; C) one of the plastic model employed in the experiment; D) a picture showing the preparation of the radionuclides.

WP4 Gloves distributed to medical staff equipped with dosemeters to quantify the radiation dose and some results for Non Dominant and Dominant hand to the medical staff in F-18 administration for PET patient.

The molded phantoms employed to generate numerical models for the Monte Carlo numerical simulations

References

ORAMED (www.oramed-fp7.eu) has received funding from the EURATOM 7° Framework Programme (2007-2011) grant agreement n° 21136 The final ORAMED workshop was held in Barcelona in January 2011. The workshop proceedings are in press on Radiation Measurements (Elsevier). Some previous articles presented the main aspects of the project and selected preliminary results were published in Radiation Protection Dosimetry 144 (2011) vol 1-4.