Assessment of Extremity Occupational Exposure at A Nuclear Medicine

Department
ABSTRACT
 Objective
There has been an increase in the use of radioactive materials in diagnostic imaging,
putting nuclear medicine personnel at increased medical risks. Worldwide, there is
limited data regarding extremity dose exposure with multiple studies showing wide dose
variability.
 Materials and Method
Therefore, in this study, extremity occupational doses for 9 nuclear medicine personnel,
consisting of nurses, technologists, and nuclear medicine physicians, at a large hospital in
Riyadh were monitored over a one-year period. Ring dosimeters and calibrated
ThermoLuminescent Dosimeters (TLDs), specifically, a lithium fluoride-based TLD-100,
were used to measure dose equivalent values.
 Results
In mSv, the mean annual dose and range for three groups for extremities’ dose exposure
were as follows: group one (6.24 ± 4.28) (1.1–11.7), group two (55.45 ± 7.85) (49.9–61)
and group three (221.45 ± 18.03) (208.7–234.2). Within each of the three groups, the
annual radiation dose was similar; however, there was large intergroup variation as would
be expected due to the different roles each personnel has.
 Conclusion
However, in all cases, the extremity dose was less than the annual dose limit (500 mSv)
set. Hence, this reveals a wide variation in dose among the personnel. This revealed a
wide variation in dose among the personnel, highlighting the need for careful assessment
of working conditions to ensure annual occupational exposures below the recommended
limits.

Heny Maghfiana R.
1C/ P1337430222107