Monitoring patient peak skin doses in interventional cardiology by means of XR-RV2 Gafchromic films

Abstract

A survey of patient exposure in interventional cardiology is being conducted in Dubai Hospital, as part of the IAEA regional project on patient exposure in radiology. Because of the limited number of Gafchromic films available, the survey was conducted only in Dubai Hospital, a major medical institution in the City of Dubai. This Hospital receives a large number of patients annually for diagnosis and therapy purposes. The aim of the survey is to assess the Peak Skin Doses (PSD) incurred by cardiac patients undergoing angioplasty procedures. The technique adopted for this work uses a special Gafchromic film type XR-RV2 and is very practical for localizing the irradiated areas and determining the relevant PSD. Using a comparison tablet provided by the manufacturer with the films, the dose range resulting from the procedure can be rapidly estimated. A more refined method using a film digitizer (dedicated scanner) and appropriate software such as ImageJ allows the determination of the PSD. Prior to the dosimetry work, image quality and X-ray beam output were checked for compliance with the applicable standards. © 2009 Springer-Verlag.