title: Occupational Exposure in Nuclear Medicine and PET.
abstract: Purpose: With the increasing use of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) for scanning in oncology in our center, a radiation dose survey was performed to determine the impact on staff exposure. Conventional nuclear medicine procedures such as gallium scan, bone scans, and sestamibi cardiac scans are used for comparative purposes.Procedure: Patients were measured using a hand-held radiation monitor (Victoreen 450-P) at various distances and times that replicate typical patient contact scenarios in the Diagnostic Imaging Department.Results: We present our findings from the survey and the implications these have on staff radiation exposure. The data suggest that emerging oncologic techniques such as PET, high dose gallium-67, and high dose Tl-201 do not represent a significantly greater occupational radiation hazard than conventional nuclear medicine procedures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET, Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: White
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Binns
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fawcett
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Greer
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ciavarella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hicks