Method to Estimate Doses in Real-Time for the Eyes

In the interventional medical procedure, the medical team is subject to high exposure to scattered radiation when compared to other occupational groups that work with X-rays. The dose limits accumulated on the lens deserve attention to avoid a relative risk of developing a cataract after being absorbed by the eye lens. The objective of this work is to develop a system that allows estimating the dose accumulated in real-time in the lens of the eye received by the physician during the interventional procedure and indicate means of its protection against ionizing radiation. Dose rates were collected by the ionization chamber at 166 cm about the ground level, with distances of the main beam at 19, 38, 57, 76, and 152 cm, around the fluoroscopy. The estimated doses were visualized in real-time through a display showing the intensities of the accumulated doses. To test the performance of the system, we used an adult phantom with a size of 30 × 30 × 22 cm to measure the dose estimate in real-time in the region of the lens of the eyes simulating an interventionist procedure, we irradiate for 20 min, and the results of the estimates about X-ray beam distances were 220.6, 159.3, 110.3, 78.4 and 22.1 μSv per procedure and unshielded, respectively for those distances. The validation of the measurements was consistent in p-value 0.05 < p-value < 0.025. For the radiologist, the doses checked annually for 110 procedures in the usual position may be reduced from 17.5 from 38 cm to 12.1 mSv/years distant from 57 cm of the beam, well below the ICRP recommendations. The estimated dose in real-time helps the interventionist physician optimize their exposure to scattered radiation during the procedure, allowing them to enhance personal protection and reduce occupational dose in the of the eyes.