Shielding effectiveness of X-ray protective garment

• Published in: Physica medica 2021-02, Vol.82, p.343-350
• Main Authors: Eder, H., Schlattl, H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attenuation factor; Effective dose; Organ doses; Protective garment
• ISSN: 1120-1797; 1724-191X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmp.2021.01.081

•Attenuation factors of protective garment should be based on the effective dose.•Protective clothing features higher attenuation in clinical use than under IEC conditions.•Adapting the protective material to radiosensitive organs makes aprons more effective. Certification of the X-ray shielding garment is based on attenuation testing on flat material samples. We investigated the difference of shielding effectiveness compared to realistic use when the garment is worn on the body of a staff person. Attenuation factors of X-ray protective aprons have been evaluated for several clinical scenarios with Monte Carlo (MC) calculations based on the ICRP female reference model and an experimental setup. The MC calculated attenuation factors refer to the effective dose E, whereas the measured attenuation factors refer to the personal dose equivalent Hp(10). The calculated/measured factors were compared to the attenuation factors of the identical materials measured under the conditions of the standard IEC 61331-1 that is currently in use for the type testing of X-ray protective aprons. As a result, for example, at a common tube voltage of 80 kV, the real attenuation factors of a 0.35 mm Pb apron worn by a 3-dimensional body were 38% to 76% higher than when measured under IEC conditions on flat samples. The MC-calculated organ doses show the maximum contribution to E being within the operatoŕs abdomen/pelvis region. With our findings, personal X-ray protective garments could be improved in effectiveness.