A study on the radiation dose of the orthopaedic surgeon and staff from a mini c-arm fluoroscopy unit

Abstract

In this study, radiation exposure to the surgeon and supporting staff from a mini C-arm unit during fluoroscopically guided orthopaedic surgeries was studied. A Diadose dosemeter and Gamma-Scout meter were used for air-kerma measurements for primary and scattered radiations. The entrance dose of hands, eyes and thyroid of the surgeon was measured during direct observation. Scattered air-kerma rate was measured to quantify the received entrance dose of the supporting staff. During direct observation, the skin-entrance exposure rates of the surgeon's hand, eye and thyroid gland were 8036, 0.85 and 0.9 μGy min-1, respectively. The scattered exposure rate was precipitously dropped beyond the path of the primary radiation beam, and reached 0.51 μGy min-1 at a distance of 40 cm from the beam's central axis. This study showed that the surgeon's hand was the most dose-limiting organ for fluoroscopically guided orthopaedic surgery procedures when it was exposed to primary radiation. The exposure of supporting staff at a working distance of >20 cm from the beam was minimal during fluoroscopy by mini C-arm unit. © The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.