Radiation protection in the management of hospitalized patients, when injected with Tc-99m

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effective dose equivalent for the medical staff, caregivers and other patients, when exposed to radiation from hospitalized patients, treated with 1,11GBq 99mTc, for diagnostic examinations. Method: The measurements of the ambient rate dose equivalent *(10) has been performed with a survey meter at different distances (0 cm, 20 cm, 50 cm and 100 cm) from treated patient. The measurements were carried out, considering different projections (AP, PA, RL, LR) of the patient in respect of the operator position, after 3 hours from the 99mTc administration. The data are referred to 20 patients and the mean and the maximum values were calculated. According to the experimental data, the PA projection provides the maximum value. Results: The mean value and the ??and the maximum value of *(10)max , measured 3 hours after the radionuclide administration and at different distances from patient with the survey meter in PA position, are shown in the table below. From these data, it is possible to obtain the estimated value of the personal dose equivalent Hp(10) and to evaluate the annual doses, received by medical staff, patients and other members of the public, who could be nearby the treated patients, during their hospitalization. The values of effective dose to the operators were obtained by measured data, taking into account the work load for health operators, the time requested, on average, for care of the patient, the distance between operator and patient. Furthermore the worst exposure conditions were considered.