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H. Hnscheid, M. Lamann, F. Aulbach, Chr. Reiners
Monitoring of 131I incorporation in nuclear medicine personnel by self accomplished measurements
Keywords: Incorporation monitoring, radiation protection, Radioiodine therapy
AIM: The personnel in nuclear medicine therapy wards must be monitored according to German guidelines for incorporations of 131I. A surveillance with the employees measuring themselves similarly to the autonomous contamination survey using hand-foot-clothing monitors is presented as an alternative to the monitoring according to the official guidelines. METHOD: The employees use a dedicated device to measure themselves every working day. The automatic individual positioning of the device ensures reliable and reproducible results. The thyroid dose is determined from the measured time activity curve. The individual values of depth and mass of the thyroid are taken into account for activity measurement and dose evaluation, respectively. RESULTS: The employees measure themselves regularly and utilize the device to check for activities in the thyroid at an early stage after suspected incorporation. The almost complete surveillance permits a dosimetry with slight uncertainty. The determined thyroid doses of all monitored persons average to 0.35 mSv per month. CONCLUSION: The incorporation surveillance by autonomous monitoring allows a more reliable and more precise dosimetry than the monitoring according to the official guidelines. Despite numerous measurements the practice saves time and money as a result of the automation.
Nuklearmedizin, Schattauer
Print ISSN: 0029-5566
Volume: 42, 01/2003
Pages: 45 - 49