Staff occupational exposure and ambient doses resulting from patients undergoing nuclear medicine procedures’

Ultrasound personnel can be occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation from radioisotopes during ultrasonography imaging of patients who received radioactive material. Thus, radiation safety assessment is required to ensure that the ultrasonography physicians practices conform with the international guidelines and that dose limits are not exceeded. This study aimed to measure staff exposure during ultrasound investigations of such patients who received radioactive material in molecular imaging procedures such positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Occupational doses, in terms of Hp (10) (deep dose), Hp (0.07) (skin dose) and ambient dose were monstered using calibrated thermos-luminescent dosimeters (TLDs) to ensure occupational doses exposures for the ultrasonographers over 1 year at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The overall mean of Hp(10), Hp(0.07) for an annual occupational dose of 0.4 mSv and ambient dose (mSv) were (M) in ultrasound room, Hp(10) of 1.7 mSv and Hp(0.07) of 1.72 mSv in the Hot Lab, and Hp(10) of 0.4 mSv and Hp(0.07) of 0.02 mSv in the Stress Room. Occupational exposure was below the annual dose limits (20.0 mSv) for all practitioners, as well the extremities dose was below the annual dose limits of 500 mSv. In conclusion, since staff exposure which highly depends on radioisotope characteristics and protection measures can vary significantly for different personnel, continuous serial careful assessment of working conditions is recommended to ensure occupational doses exposures remain below annual limits.