Evaluating Occupational Radiation Exposure in Interventional Cardiology: An Investigation into Estimating Effective Dose

To safeguard the safety and well-being of interventional cardiology healthcare workers, monitoring their occupational radiation exposure is crucial. This study evaluates the radiation dose of interventional cardiologists using the Swiss Ordinance for personal dosimetry approach. Its primary aim is to estimate the radiation dose for each operator engaged in interventional cardiology procedures to protect from dangerous levels of radiation. Additionally, this study assesses the correlation between under-apron and over-apron dosimeters. Notably, no previous studies in Sri Lanka have specifically assessed radiation dose in this context, making this research vital in shedding light on radiation exposure in an interventional cardiology environment. Two cardiologists conducted a total of 108 interventional cardiology procedures, including coronary angiograms and percutaneous coronary interventions for a month at the cardiac catheterization laboratory of Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital, Sri Lanka. Active dosimeters were utilized to measure dose values using a two-dosimeter approach where one dosimeter was positioned above the thyroid collar and the other beneath the lead apron on the left side of the waist. The effective doses (E) were determined using the Swiss Ordinance algorithm. Furthermore, this study also examined the relationship between under and over-apron dose values. The Swiss Ordinance algorithm estimated the mean annual E values for each cardiologist, resulting in 3.0397 mSv/year and 0.9697 mSv/year, respectively showing that the estimated annual occupational doses remained well below the annual dose limit (20 mSv/year). The accuracy of the algorithm in interventional ionising radiation scenarios was also highlighted. A strong positive correlation (R2 = 0.9500) was observed between over-apron and under-apron dose values. Applying the Swiss Ordinance for personal dosimetry and studying the link between over and under-apron dosimeters in interventional cardiology improve our grasp of radiation dosimetry. Emphasizing precise dose estimation for the safety of cardiologists, this study enhances the radiation safety practices in interventional cardiology.