Congress:
EuroSafe Imaging 2019
Keywords:
Chemoembolisation, Percutaneous, Cone beam CT, Radiation physics, Radioprotection / Radiation dose, Interventional vascular, Action 2 - Clinical diagnostic reference levels (DRLs), Embolisation, Embolism / Thrombosis
Authors:
�. KNEZEVIC MEDIJA, T. Siiskonen, M. Sans Merce, F. L. MALCHAIR, M. Majer, A. Gallagher, J. Farah, J. Dabin, O. Ciraj-Bjelac
DOI:
10.26044/esi2019/ESI-0091
Conclusion and recommendations
Part of the EURADOS WG12 work is focusing on patient dosimetry in medical imaging with the aim to improve dosimetry methods,
to increase awareness amongst the medical professionals and to foster the implementation of the optimization principle by establishing DRLs for specific examinations.
WG12 recently collected patient exposure data from 13 countries (37 clinics and nearly 50 interventional rooms) and for 10 different procedures to establish European DRLs for IR and IC procedures.
The study shows (1) that for the new procedures it is difficult to set local reference levels so in these cases generic DRL values can be applied.
The results of WG12 indicated that generic,
hospital-independent alert levels are feasible in some interventional procedures (like chemoembolization of the liver) but should be used cautiously,
only as the first approximation; hospital-specific alert levels are preferred as the final approach and should be set to reflect the clinic’s specific working procedures.
When the procedures are well established local DRLs should be set since variations between countries or even within the country can be large.
For dental CBCT examinations,
and given the identified challenges,
future work involves the drafting of detailed guidelines outlining how DRLs should be established.
Even though work is still in progress,
it has been clear demonstrated several times,
that such working groups from different European partners allow for a better understanding of radiation protection throughout European hospitals.