Event
Shielding X-Ray rooms - The basics and a CT Example
06 April 2023
Free Webinar, 12:00 - 13:00 (BST)
This webinar was based around the BIR publication, Radiation Shielding for Diagnostic Radiology. The presentations (member access only) can be view at the bottom of this page along with the video.
The first part of the webinar considered the basic concepts underpinning shielding design and will. Topics covered included planning, doses, dose limits, constraints, occupancy, primary & secondary radiation sources and calculation of barrier thicknesses.
Following this review of these basics, the webinar discussed how to determine scatter levels around an x-ray tube, and showed how measurements and monte carlo simulations are in agreement. It showed how scatter levels incident on a barrier can be related to KAP (or DLP) using a simple formula, and how a room can then be shielded against scatter in a manner which is ALARP.
The final part of the webinar considered shielding for one modality, Computed Tomography, in more depth. It described the methods that were used to measure scatter levels around CT scanners at 1m from the isocentres during scans of the trunk and head. CT scatter factors were determined from these measurements, which can be used to estimate dose levels at different positions within a CT room, including behind the gantry that itself provides some protection. The webinar included a worked example of the assessment of shielding requirements for the walls and ceiling of a CT room. It also considered the potential contributions from tertiary scatter from the ceiling and walls to doses in the control cubicle and surrounding areas, and look at implications for shielding if the CT examination workload is doubled.
Colin Martin PhD, FIOP, FIPEM, FSRP
Colin Martin worked as a hospital-based Medical Physicist in Radiation Protection in Aberdeen and Glasgow, Scotland for over 30 years. He has now retired from the NHS but is an honorary senior lecturer for the University of Glasgow. Colin is Vice-Chair of ICRP Committee 3 (Protection in Medicine), chairs ICRP Task Groups 108 and 116, and is a member of Task Group 117. He has been a member of various IAEA committees and carried out a missions for IAEA as a radiation expert in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He is a member of the UK Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment, and Editorial Boards for the Journal of Radiological Protection and Radiation Protection Dosimetry. He has been a member of several UK radiation protection committees and working parties. His research interests include radiation protection, diagnostic radiology, radiation dosimetry, and non-ionising physics. He is an honorary fellow of SRP and was awarded the healthcare gold medal by IPEM in 2018. He has co-authored/edited several textbooks and monographs on radiation protection, written over 300 articles including 170 papers in peer reviewed scientific journals, and contributed to both editions of the BIR publication “Radiation Shielding for Diagnostic Radiology”.
David Sutton, PhD, FIPEM, FSRP, FBIR
David Sutton has a PhD in Medical Physics and until recently was the Head of Medical Physics at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, having worked in radiation protection and diagnostic radiology physics for over thirty five years. He has now retired from the NHS and holds an honorary chair from the University of Dundee.
David is currently the secretary of ICRP Committee3, Chair of ICRP Task Group 113 and a member of ICRP Task Group 108. He has been a member of the editorial board of the British Journal of Radiology and is a past chair of the British Institute of Radiology Radiation Protection Committee, the IPEM Special Interest Group in Diagnostic Radiology and the SRP Medical Sector Committee. David has served as an expert in radiation protection for the IAEA. He is presently a member of the UK Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment. He is also the current Chair of the Board of RPA2000 Ltd, and has edited, authored or contributed to several textbooks, monographs and other publications, all in the fields of diagnostic radiology physics and radiation protection. He contributed to and edited both editions of the BIR publication “Radiation Shielding for Diagnostic Radiology”.
Shielding X-Ray rooms - The basics and a CT Example
Free Webinar, 12:00 - 13:00 (BST)