Dose measurements using thermoluminescent dosimeters and DoseCal software at two paediatric hospitals in Rio de Janeiro

Regional survey of entrance surface dose to patients from X-ray examinations in Saudi Arabia

The aim of this study was to evaluate the entrance surface doses (ESDs) to patients undergoing chest and lumbar spine X-ray examinations in Najran, Saudi Arabia. ESD per examination was estimated from X-ray tube output parameters in two hospitals comprising three X-ray units and a sample of 137 radiographs. Hospital mean ESDs estimated range from 0.068 to 0.34 mGy for chest posteroanterior, 0.44-3.42 mGy for lumbar spine anteroposterior and 0.96-7.98 mGy for lumbar spine lateral. The results are useful to national and professional organizations and can be used as a baseline upon which future dose measurements may be compared.

Evaluation of paediatric X-ray doses in Moroccan university hospitals

This work evaluates the entrance skin dose (ESD), the body organ dose (BOD) and the effective dose (E) for chest X-ray exposures of paediatric patients. Two Moroccan university hospitals in Rabat, composed of two departments, and one in Casablanca with one paediatric compartment has been considered. For reasons of confidentiality, the departments are named A, B and C. Patients were divided into four age groups: 0-1, 1-5, 5-10 and 10-15 y, so that the results could be compared with previous published data found in the literature. The results have been calculated with the use of the Dose Cal software. Results of mean ESD for the age interval 1-5 y and antero-posterior (AP) projection are: 162 µGy for hospital A, 91 µGy for hospital B and 105 µGy for hospital C. The diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) of 100 µGy for this age range is exceeded in hospital A, while in the other two hospitals results were within the DRL and comparable with the results found in Brazil, Soudan, Nigeria and other radiological centres inpean Countries. The results of BOD and E showed that for the three departments, the BOD varies in the same proportion as the ESD. The highest values are those of hospital A. For the PA examination, the dose is reduced compared with the AP projection, especially for sensitive organs.

Paediatric x-ray examinations in Rio de Janeiro

This work presents the results of a dose survey performed for paediatric patients and carried out in two large paediatric public hospitals in Rio de Janeiro city. The entrance surface dose (ESD) and the effective dose (ED) were evaluated for chest, skull, abdomen, lumbar spine, cervical spine and pelvis in antero-posterior (AP), postero-anterior (PA) and lateral (LAT) projections. For each examination, four age groups 0-1, 1-5, 5-10 and 10-15 years were studied. The DoseCal software was used to calculate these doses. Wide variations for the same type of examination and projection have been detected. These variations were evident, in Brazil, from previous work. In spite of the present results being still preliminary, they can give an idea of what paediatric ESDs are like in Brazil. Also, with respect to the entrance surface dose, some of the results are above the reference levels, which cause high ED, as well. On the other hand, the wide range of ESD reflects the disparity of radiographic techniques and demonstrates that the ALARA principle is not being applied in Brazilian hospitals and becomes a concern in terms of public health.

Dose evaluation in paediatric radiology and adult bone densitometry examinations

Dose measurements are acknowledged to be a vital part of the quality assurance process in diagnostic radiology, and the use of thermoluminescence dosemeters (TLDs) is a recommended method of entrance dose evaluation. Measurement of doses in radiographic examinations is widely adopted in clinical practice for adults as well as for children. Phantoms can be used to simulate different parts of the body, depending on the materials used to build them. In this work two different sets of phantoms have been prepared with acrylic blocks. The first set was used to simulate children of different ages. The second set was used to simulate the adult spine. The dosimetric measurements have been carried out using TLD and an ionising chamber. Measurements were performed in three X-ray equipments in Aracaju, Brazil. The entrance, half thickness and exit surface doses were analysed.

Estudo comparativo das técnicas radiográficas e doses entre o Brasil e a Austrália

OBJETIVO: O objetivo deste trabalho é fazer um estudo comparativo das técnicas radiográficas entre o Brasil e a Austrália e avaliar as doses de radiação para os exames radiológicos mais comuns. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: A dose de entrada na pele (DEP) e a dose efetiva (DE) foram obtidas com o uso do programa DoseCal. Em ambos os países, o estudo foi realizado em hospitais de grande porte da rede pública. Quatro tipos de exames foram avaliados: tórax, abdome, pelve e coluna torácica em três projeções (ântero-posterior, póstero-anterior e lateral). Na Austrália, todos os equipamentos são digitais e operam no sistema PACS. No Brasil, os aparelhos são convencionais. RESULTADOS: Os valores médios da DEP e da DE são consideravelmente mais altos no Brasil, exceto para os exames de tórax, cujos resultados indicaram índices menores. As maiores diferenças encontradas foram para os exames de pelve (26 vezes maior no Brasil) e de coluna torácica (43 vezes maior no Brasil). O mesmo acontece para os valores da DE. CONCLUSÃO: Nos hospitais australianos, os programas de controle e garantia de qualidade (PCGQ) fazem parte da rotina nos serviços de radiologia. Contam com equipamentos digitais de última geração e os serviços possuem uma equipe de física médica atuante. Esse conjunto de iniciativas resulta na produção de imagens radiográficas de alta qualidade, com baixas doses e índices de rejeição próximos a zero. Tais resultados apontam para a necessidade de se estimular a implantação de PCGQ em toda a rede hospitalar brasileira. No entanto, analisando os resultados de DEP nos exames de tórax, concluímos que doses baixas também são possíveis no Brasil se forem empregadas técnicas radiográficas adequadas.