1. On the safety of persons accompanying nuclear medicine patients.
- Author
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Díaz Barreto M, López Bejerano GM, Varela Corona C, and Fleitas Estévez I
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Child, Environmental Exposure analysis, Female, Humans, Male, Radiation Protection methods, Radionuclide Imaging, Young Adult, Caregivers statistics & numerical data, Environmental Exposure statistics & numerical data, Mothers statistics & numerical data, Neoplasms diagnostic imaging, Radiation Dosage, Radiopharmaceuticals analysis, Thermoluminescent Dosimetry methods
- Abstract
The presence of caretakers/comforters during nuclear medicine examinations is relatively common. These caretakers receive higher doses than the general public, who receive only environmental/background exposure. The aim of this research was to know about the doses received by two significant groups of caretakers: comforters of cancer patients (Group I) and mothers of small children (Group II). The patients were scheduled to undergo two different diagnostic studies: Inmuno-Scintigraphy using a monoclonal antibody bound to (99m)Tc (for adults) and Renal Scintigraphy using (99m)Tc-dimercaptosuccinic acid (for children). The average effective doses were 0.27 and 0.29 mSv for Groups I and II, respectively. Additionally, environmental monitoring was performed in the waiting room for injected patients (Room I) and inside the procedure room (Room II). Equivalent environmental doses of 0.28 and 0.24 mSv for Rooms 1 and II, respectively, were found, which are similar to values reported by other authors.
- Published
- 2012
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