Background/introduction
Diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) were first introduced by the International Commission of Radiation Protection (ICRP) in 1996 [1].
DRLs are a useful tool for the evaluation and optimization of the applied techniques in interventional radiology.
According to Article 56.2 of the European Directive (2013/59): “Member States shall ensure the establishment,
regular review and use of DRLs for radio-diagnostic examinations,
having regard to the recommended European diagnostic reference levels where available,
and where appropriate for interventional radiology procedures” [2].
The wide range of Dose area product...
Description of activity and work performed
Data were collected for 28 consecutive patients who underwent endovascular treatment of the iliac arteries.
DRLs are established as the 3rd quartile of the dose distribution.
For each patient total fluoroscopy time,
total DAP,
peak skin dose (PSD),
body mass index (BMI) and the number of digital subtraction angiography (DSA) series were recorded.
All procedures were performed on a Siemens Axiom Artis FA angiographic unit (Siemens,
Erlangen,
Germany) by two experienced interventional radiologists.
DRLs presented herein are divided into three groups.
DRLs for low,
medium...
Conclusion and recommendations
Establishment of DRLs in interventional radiology is important for the evaluation and optimization of the applied techniques.
This preliminary study presents DRLs for endovascular treatment of the iliac arteries.
Due to the wide range of dosimetric data presented in the literature,
complexity of the procedures should be taken into consideration.
Personal/organisational information
Eleftherios Tzanis1 MSc
Elias Kehagias2 MD
Dimitrios Tsetis3MD,
PhD
John Damilakis4PhD
1Department of Medical Physics,
Medical School,
University of Crete,
P.O.
Box 2208,
Heraklion 71003,
Crete,
Greece.
2Department of Radiology,
Interventional Radiology Unit,
University Hospital of Heraklion,
Crete,
Greece.
3Department of Radiology,
Interventional Radiology Unit,
University Hospital of Heraklion,
Medical School,
University of Crete,
Crete,
Greece.
4Department of Medical Physics, University Hospital of Heraklion,
Medical School,
University of Crete,
Crete,
Greece.
Address for correspondence:
[email protected]
References
[1] International Commission on Radiological Protection (1996) Radiological protection and safety in medicine.
Publication 73.
Ann.
ICRP 26(2).
Pergamon Press,
Oxford
[2] The Council of the European Union.
Official Journal of the European Union.
Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM of 5 Dec 2013.
Available from: https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files/documents/CELEX-32013L0059-EN-TXT.pdf Accessed 20 April 2016.
[3] R.
Ruiz-Cruces,
E.
Vano et al.
Diagnostic reference levels and complexity indices in interventional radiology: a national programme.
Eur Radiol (2016) 26:4268–4276.