Abstract
Radiation exposure in medical institutions is mainly due to low doses. Low-dose radiation mainly means scattered radiation, and such scattered radiation can be shielded with a lightweight shielding suit. In this study, the shielding performance of shielding fabrics woven by winding polyethylene (PE) yarn around a 30 μm tungsten wire was evaluated. To improve the shielding performance, an air pressure dispersion process of coating tungsten nanopowder on the fiber was developed. The radiation shielding effectiveness of the shielding fibers with and without dispersed tungsten nanopowder were compared by measuring the spatial dose inside the diagnostic X-ray imaging room of a medical institution. The results of the experiment confirmed that the fabric coated with tungsten nanopowder improved the shielding performance of the general tungsten fiber by approximately 15% and provided relatively effective low-dose radiation shielding at approximately 1.2 m of the X-ray imaging equipment. This study shows that tungsten fiber can be helpful in manufacturing lightweight shielding clothing for protection from scattered radiation in medical institutions.
Highlights
The increasing use of artificial radiation in medical institutions has increased radiation exposure in the diagnostic area [1]
The diameter of the tungsten wire was selected such that it was small enough to maintain the flexibility of the tungsten fabric and provide a high weaving density, but not too small that the yarn could break during the weaving process
To develop a light-weight shielding fiber for use in medical institutions, PE yarn was wound around a 30 μm tungsten wire and woven into a shielding fiber
Summary
The increasing use of artificial radiation in medical institutions has increased radiation exposure in the diagnostic area [1]. Most of the radiation exposure that is a problem in medical institutions is caused by indirect scattered rays rather than direct rays. Scattered radiation corresponds to a low dose, generally less than 100 mSv [3]. In the case of radiation exposure of less than 100 mSv, the Research Council Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation report (BEIR VII) supports the theory of linear proportion without a threshold, there is a direct potential for cancer and genetic disorders [4,5]. The active protection of medical workers against low-dose radiation exposure is critical. Current radiation shielding clothing in medical institutions generally uses lead as the shielding material, the weight of this substance hinders the physical activity of medical staff and patients. In order to reduce the weight of the shielding lining, it is necessary to discover a new shielding material, and this is related to the Academic Editor: Richard Kouzes
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