Avaliação do equivalente de dose ambiental em uma sala de radiologia veterinária

Abstract

Since the discovery of X-rays, ionizing radiation has been widely used in medicine for diagnostic and treatment purposes. Currently, radiology plays a fundamental role in the routine of veterinary medicine, where animal containment is often necessary. Thus, Occupationally Exposed Individuals (OEIs), as well as other individuals involved, may receive radiation doses from the scattered beams in the radiology room, which can become problematic with frequent exposure. The risk of exposure is heightened in more radiosensitive organs, such as the thyroid and gonads. In this context, this study was carried out to evaluate the ambient dose equivalent (H*(10)) in the radiology room of the Veterinary Hospital of the Federal University of Uberlândia (HV-UFU). An ionization chamber was used to measure the doses in positions where veterinary professionals are usually found during procedures with small animals, represented by a phantom object, in order to identify positions with optimized scattered radiation dose values. It was observed that, among the animals restraint positions, the H*(10) ranged from 0.40 to 1.01 µSv for a tube voltage of 55 kV, and from 0.57 to 1.39 µSv for 60 kV, to the ionization chamber positioned in the thyroid region. In the same positions in the radiology room, the doses ranged from 0.49 to 1.28 µSv for 55 kV and from 0.62 to 1.79 µSv for 60 kV, to the ionization chamber positioned in the gonads region. Positions close to the paw region, presented the highest H*(10) values. Therefore, it is important to emphasize the need to use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and the optimization of parameters during the use of ionizing radiation are essential to reduce the dose received by OEIs.