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Radiation Protection Dosimetry Advance Access published online on March 28, 2008
Radiation Protection Dosimetry, doi:10.1093/rpd/ncn095
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

USE OF LEAD SHIELDS FOR RADIATION PROTECTION OF SUPERFICIAL ORGANS IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING HEAD CT EXAMINATIONS

J. E. Ngaile1,*, C. B. S. Uiso2, P. Msaki2 and R. Kazema3

1 Radiation Control Directorate, Tanzania Atomic Energy Commission, PO Box 743, Arusha, Tanzania
2 Department of Physics, University of Dar es Salaam, PO Box 35063, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
3 Department of Radiology, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, PO Box 65001, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

* Corresponding author: jngaile{at}yahoo.com

Received April 13, 2006, amended February 28, 2008, accepted February 29, 2008

Head computed tomography examinations are often accompanied with unnecessary irradiation of superficial organs that are rarely the main target for the investigation. The aim of this work is to demonstrate that lead shields could be effectively used to protect superficial organs without compromising image quality where superficial organ itself is not a target and that the irradiation of the superficial organ is unavoidable. The objective was achieved by first assessing the image quality using phantom measurements made with and without lead shielding in order to determine optimal shielding thickness for patient applications. The entrance surface doses (ESDs) to superficial organs of sixty patients were measured using LiF-thermoluminescent dosemeters without, with one layer, or with two layers of lead shields. Phantom studies demonstrated that the use of modified lead shields of up to 0.25 mm thickness could be used without significant effect on the image quality for central and posterior regions. In these studies, lead shields of 0.25 mm thickness reduce the ESDs to the lens of the eyes and thyroid by 44 and 51%, respectively. The image quality reduction by eye shields was significant to the anterior (i.e. orbital) region but marginal to the central and posterior regions (cerebrum). In view of the above, the use of modified lead shields could reduce the dose to the superficial organs considerably without significantly compromising image quality.


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