SCATTERED X-RAY ENERGY DATA FROM INTEGRATED MULTI-FILTER PERSONAL DOSEMETERS WORN BY INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY STAFF.

Abstract

The accuracy and usability of scattered X-ray energy data obtained from multi-filter dosemeters were investigated by comparing the data with results obtained via Monte Carlo simulation. The energy data, which were read from integrated personal dosemeters used by interventional radiology (IR) staff in individual monitoring, were plotted against relative frequency and statistically assessed. The effective energy obtained from the multi-filter dosemeters was inversely proportional to detector size and lower than the results of the Monte Carlo simulation. All distributions of scattered X-ray energy to which the IR staff were exposed had only one peak value, which corresponded with the effective energy measured using a water phantom. For abdominal IR, there was a significant difference in the distributions between IR staff (p < 0.01). The results suggest that rectifying systematic errors resulting from oblique incidence of X-rays against the filters would make the energy data usable for optimisation of radiological protection.