article · JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND REVIEW IN SCIENCE
An evaluation of radiation safety across five standalone X-ray diagnostic centres examined machine operating settings and annual effective doses. Tube voltages across the centres ranged from 45 kV to 80 kV, while exposure times spanned from 2.83 mAs to 129.7 mAs. Annual effective doses, estimated using handheld survey meters at heights of 1.2 metres, ranged between 2.31 mSv per year and 21.23 mSv per year. These annual dose levels comply with the recommended whole-body limits established by the International Commission on Radiological Protection for occupationally exposed radiation workers. However, the cumulative scatter radiation levels present high exposures for individual body parts of non-radiological workers and patients. Variations in tube current and voltage directly influence the scatter radiation doses, which pose significant risks to unprotected individuals during diagnostic procedures.
Diagnostic imaging provides vital medical information, but excessive radiation exposure creates long-term health hazards. Evaluating real-world operating practices in standalone clinics ensures facilities adhere to established international safety guidelines. Pinpointing how equipment settings generate scatter radiation helps identify unprotected individuals, such as patients and non-radiological staff, who may face elevated radiation levels during regular operations.
The findings can inform safety auditing, shielding design, and protocol optimisation for independent diagnostic radiology centres and healthcare regulators. As an applied evaluation of existing clinical facilities, the work does not present a proprietary product or defined technology transfer pathway, but the data could be used by providers of radiation safety training and monitoring services.
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Introduction: Standalone diagnostics centres are be established in compliance with the radiation protection and safety measures. Aim: The study aims to evaluate the radiation safety level in standalone X-ray diagnostic radiological centres. Methods: Five Standalone radiological diagnostic centres have been studied in terms of the mAs, kVp and the annual effective dose obtained during radiological procedures. The annual effective dose is estimated from the instantaneous doses’ measurement using a radiation survey meter (survey meter was held at about 1.2 meters high), Geiger counter version BR- 9C with threshold setting based on the World Health Organisation (WHO). The measurement ranges between 0 µSv/h and 99.99 µSv/h, with real-time measurement and real-time error ≤ 10%. The mAs and kVp measurements were obtained directly from the X-ray machines used. Results: The highest kVp obtained is 80kV, and the lowest is 45kV; while the highest mAs is 129.7 mAs, and the lowest is 2.83 mAs. The highest annual effective dose from these radiological diagnostic centres is 21.23 mSv/y, and the lowest is 2.31 mSv/y. Discussion: The annual effective dose obtained from this study is within the recommended dose (whole body) by ICRP for radiation workers. However, for the patients, it is high for individuals, but the standalone radiological diagnostic centres are safe. Conclusion: The variation in X-ray tube currents and the kVp values are factors that contributed to radiation doses in these studied centres, and the annual effective doses due to the scatter radiation shows significant effect on the annual cumulated doses on both the patients and radiation workers in most of the centres. The lowest value of annual effective dose from all the centres is 2.31 mSv/y, high for an individual part of the body for non-radiological workers. Unprotected patients or workers during the diagnostic procedures are at high risk of the highest radiation doses obtainable from the X-ray machine at any given time.
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DOI: 10.36108/jrrslasu/5202.21.0130
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