title: Non-vascular interventional procedures: effective dose to patient and equivalent dose to abdominal organs by means of DICOM images and Monte Carlo simulation.
abstract: This study evaluates X-ray exposure in patient undergoing abdominal extra-vascular interventional procedures by means of Digital Imaging and COmmunications in Medicine (DICOM) image headers and Monte Carlo simulation. The main aim was to assess the effective and equivalent doses, under the hypothesis of their correlation with the dose area product (DAP) measured during each examination. This allows to collect dosimetric information about each patient and to evaluate associated risks without resorting to in vivo dosimetry. The dose calculation was performed in 79 procedures through the Monte Carlo simulator PCXMC (A PC-based Monte Carlo program for calculating patient doses in medical X-ray examinations), by using the real geometrical and dosimetric irradiation conditions, automatically extracted from DICOM headers. The DAP measurements were also validated by using thermoluminescent dosemeters on an anthropomorphic phantom. The expected linear correlation between effective doses and DAP was confirmed with an R(2) of 0.974. Moreover, in order to easily calculate patient doses, conversion coefficients that relate equivalent doses to measurable quantities, such as DAP, were obtained.
authors.affiliation: Post Graduate School of Medical Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy longo.mariaconcetta@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mariaconcetta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.affiliation: Post Graduate School of Medical Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marchioni
authors.affiliation: Post Graduate School of Medical Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Insero
authors.affiliation: Post Graduate School of Medical Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Donnarumma
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiological Sciences, Vascular and Interventional Unit, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: D'Adamo
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiological Sciences, Vascular and Interventional Unit, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Pierleone
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lucatelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiological Sciences, Vascular and Interventional Unit, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fanelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiological Sciences, Vascular and Interventional Unit, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Filippo Maria
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Salvatori
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiological Sciences, Vascular and Interventional Unit, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cannavale
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiological Sciences, Health Physic Unit, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Di Castro
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000368:Aged; D000886:Anthropometry; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D015642:Radiology, Interventional / Q000379:methods*; D011874:Radiometry / Q000379:methods; D014965:X-Rays