8th Baltic Congress of Radiology

Interventional Radiology

oral abstract

Aim of topic is to pay attention to radiation protection requirements in interventional radiology. There has been a rapid development in the field of interventional radiology over recent years, and this has led to a rapid increase in the number of interventional radiology procedures being performed. There is, however, a growing concern regarding radiation exposure to the patients and the operators during these procedures. Angiography is imaging examination that uses x-ray to visualize the body’s blood vessels and Radiation safety principles are optimization and protection, and the main question is how can we reduce the radiation dose for staff. Ionizing radiation’s harmful effects on human tissues have been recognized to either be deterministic or stochastic. Deterministic radiation injuries refer to cell death when the exposure exceeds a certain threshold. Examples are cataracts, skin erythema and desquamation, and sterility. Stochastic effects refer to injuries that occur in proportion to cumulative radiation dose over time. They have a long latency period and there is no threshold dose below which genetic damage will not occur. These effects are typically cancers of the skin, thyroid gland, nervous system and gastrointestinal tract. Evaluation and registration of patient and staff doses are mandatory under the current European legislation, and the occupational dose limits recommended by the ICRP (International Commission on Radiological Protection) have been adopted by most of the countries in the world. Three basic principles are at play- time, distance, and shielding are at play to achieve radiation protection.

Analyzed literature and sources about passive and active components of radiation protection processes in interventional radiology.

The passive component in radiation protection consists of the protective equipment in the laboratory, while the active component is based on the use of these equipment, active protection strategies include routine and appropriate use of lead apparel, proper training of the staff on radiation exposure, routine radiation dose monitoring, and using techniques in reducing radiation use to the patient and operator. These components of Techniques to reduce radiation exposure have been discussed in much more detail.

Use of passive and active components in radiation protection processes in interventional radiology laboratories is mandatory for staff to protect themselves and to account received radiation dose for the long-term. The primary source of radiation exposure to the operator and staff is the scatter from the patient undergoing the procedure; this can usually be reduced by controlling the patient dose. Nevertheless, to prevent complications from chronic radiation exposure, protective tools should be used to limit the occupational radiation dose to an acceptable level.

The components of a radiation safety program include: • essential and trained personnel; • radiation monitoring (wearing personal dosimeters so that you know your dose); • optimization (optimum dose in all angiography examination by using good imaging-chain geometry; collimating, distance); • time (minimizing fluoroscopy time and the number of acquired images); • protective shielding; • training and education.

1223