Effectiveness of radiation shielding and effective doses of radiological technologists during PET/CT scans at the National Cyclotron and PET Centre, Chulabhorn Hospital: A phantom study

Abstract

From the Principle of Radiation Protection for workers, radiation shielding is a way to reduce radiation exposure. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of shielding device in reducing effective doses experienced by radiological technologists working in a PET/CT examination room by measuring the equivalent dose with and without shielding device in phantoms using 18F 518 MBq at the National Cyclotron and PET Centre, Chulabhorn Hospital, Thailand. The phantoms were placed at the radiological technologists’ working position and nanoDotTM OSL dosimeters were attached at eyes, thyroid, and chest positions for 30 minutes. The experimental results showed that the effective dose measured with and without the radiation shields were 0.249 ± 0.030 mSv and 0.250 ± 0.020 mSv, respectively. Furthermore, data analysis revealed no statistically significant difference (p >0.05) between the two conditions. Hence, it was concluded that the use of radiation shields could not reduce the effective dose.

Keywords

• osl dosimeter
• pet/ct
• effective dose
• lead shield
• nanodot