Usefulness of non-lead aprons in radiation protection for physicians performing interventional procedures.
At present, interventional radiology (IVR) tends to involve long procedures (long radiation duration), and physicians are near to the source of scattered radiation. Hence, shielding is critical in protecting physicians from radiation. Protective aprons and additional lead-shielding devices, such as tableside lead drapes, are important means of protecting the physician from scattered radiation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether non-lead aprons are effective in protecting physicians from radiation during IVR procedures. In this study, the radiation protection effects of commercially available protective lead and non-lead aprons, when exposed to diagnostic X rays, are compared. The performance of these non-lead and lead aprons was similar for scattered X rays at tube voltages of 60-120 kV. Properly designed non-lead aprons are thus more suitable for physicians because they weigh approximately 20% less than the lead aprons, and are non-toxic.
Zuguchi
Masayuki
M
Course of Radiological Technology, Health Sciences, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo, Aoba, Sendai 980-8575, Japan. zuguchi@wm.pdx.ne.jp
Chida
Koichi
K
Taura
Masaaki
M
Inaba
Yohei
Y
Ebata
Ayako
A
Yamada
Shogo
S
D001822:Body Burden; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007564:Japan; D007854:Lead; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010820:Physicians; D011481:Protective Clothing; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015642:Radiology, Interventional; D012062:Relative Biological Effectiveness
D007854:Lead