Estimation Of Organ Equivalent And Effective Doses From Diagnostic X-Ray

The radiation dose received by the patient during the radiological examination is essential to prevent risks of exposure. A study was carried out to establish the trend of dose received by patient during x-ray examination in Federal Medical Centre, Keffi in Nasarawa state, Nigeria. Entrance skin doses (ESDs) for a common type of x-ray procedures, namely chest AP/PA (anterior/posterior) were measured. A total of 200 data were collected from patients who were exposed to diagnostic X-ray during their routine chest X-ray examinations. The patent"s skin dose were determined using Edmond"s formula, which is based on the X-ray tube and the radiographic exposure parameters of kVp, mAS, SSD and the total filtration of the beams. The calculated mean skin dose ranges from 0.013 ± 0.01mGy to 0.851±0.023mGy. In general, the ESDs measured for this type of x-ray procedures were found to be lower than or in agreement with the guidance level set by the Nigerian Basic Ionizing Radiation Regulation (NBIRR, 2003) standard and other international bodies and does not pose any significant health risk to the patience or the workers.

Diagnostic radiology is one of the most common fields to use the benefits of X-rays. Minimizing the disadvantages of ionizing radiation is the driving force of radiation protection. A basic principle in radiation protection is the ALARA principle, which is an acronym for as low as reasonably achievable (ICRP 2007). It summarizes the approach to ionizing radiation according to the current knowledge; in the region of low doses, the probability of radiation detriment increases as a function of increasing radiation dose (ICRP 2007)...

• Radiology and Imaging Project Topics and Materials