AvaliaÃÃo da eficÃcia do avental equivalente a 0,5 mm de chumbo em tomografia por emissÃo de PÃsitrons atravÃs de simulaÃÃes Monte Carlo / Evaluation of the effectiveness of 0.5 mm lead equivalent apron in positron emission tomography by Monte Carlo simulation

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2008

RESUMO

In Positron Emission Tomography (PET), medical staff is exposed to 511 keV photons, which is a result of the positron-electron annihilation process. This energy is about four times the 140 keV commonly found in studies based on Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT). Despite these different energy levels, 0.5 mm lead equivalent aprons have being used either in SPECT or PET studies. In this context, this work was designed for evaluating the effectiveness of such aprons in individual radioprotection of health professionals involved in Positron Emission Tomography. For this, by using the code MCNP4C based Monte Carlo simulations, the average energy delivered per particle to the regions corresponding to operational quantities Hp(10) and Hp(0.07) were calculated for two conditions of individual exposures: wearing and not wearing a 0.05 mm lead apron. The results obtained pointed out that Hp(10) has similar values in both situations. On the other hand, for the region corresponding to Hp(0.07), wearing this lead apron will increase absorbed doses in about 26%. On the basis of this work, 0.5 mm lead equivalent aprons do not offer adequate protection for medical staff working on Positron Emission Tomography.

ASSUNTO(S)

tomografia lead apron dosimetria mÃtodo monte carlo â instrumentaÃÃo pÃsitrons ppe pet monte carlo engenharia nuclear nuclear medicine mcnp radioprotection

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