Eye lens dosimetry with BeOSL Hp(3) dosemeters in interventional angiography and neuroradiology

In a first clinical application study, recently introduced BeOSL Hp(3) dosemeters were used for cumulative workplace characterization measurements in interventional radiology and interventional neuroradiology. Eye lens doses were accumulated on dosemeters assigned to interventions in specific anatomical areas and shared by multiple physicians. Doses were measured inside and outside of radiation protection glasses in order to compare shielded and unshielded doses near the left eye of the operator. Dose values per intervention were in the range of 0.014 mSv?0.097 mSv with the highest doses in interventions performed on the anatomical areas of the spine, abdomen, and pelvis. Additionally, Hp(10) doses were recorded at the collar of the thyroid protector, which showed a limited correlation with eye lens doses. Dose reduction factors obtained for two types of radiation protection glasses were between 2.5 and 6 in accordance with previous static measurements in the laboratory. While no systematic extrapolation to annual doses based on actual annual numbers of interventions for individual physicians has been performed yet, a simple time-based extrapolation of the recorded doses suggests that unshielded eye lens doses can approach the annual limit of 20 mSv and underline the importance of the use of radiation protection glasses and dose monitoring.