Support for the "Vancouver call for action to strengthen expertise in radiological protection worldwide": the position of organisations in formal relations with the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP).

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), recently expressed concern that "a shortage of investment in training, education, research, and infrastructure seen in many sectors and countries may compromise society's ability to properly manage radiation risks" and in 2022 announced the "Vancouver call for action to strengthen expertise in radiological protection worldwide". As representatives of organisations in formal relations with ICRP, we decided to promote this position paper to declare and emphasise that strengthening the expertise in radiological protection is a collective priority for all of us.

Cone beam CT doses in radiotherapy patient positioning in Finland-prostate treatments.

Imaging parameters, frequencies and resulting patient organ doses in treatments of prostate cancer were assessed in Finnish radiotherapy centres. Based on a questionnaire to the clinics, Monte Carlo method was used to estimate organ doses in International Commission on Radiological Protection standard phantom for prostate, bladder, rectum and femoral head. The results show that doses from cone beam computed tomography imaging have reduced compared to earlier studies and are between 3.

Optimization of contrast and dose in x-ray phase-contrast tomography with a Talbot-Lau interferometer.

X-ray phase-contrast imaging has become a valuable tool for biomedical research due to its improved contrast abilities over regular attenuation-based imaging. The recently emerged Talbot-Lau interferometer can provide quantitative attenuation, phase-contrast and dark-field image data, even with low-brilliance x-ray tube sources. Thus, it has become a valid option for clinical environments.

Metrology supporting the European regulation for radiation protection.

The European Association of National Metrology Institutes (EURAMET) within its research programme European Metrology Programme for Innovation and Research (EMPIR) funded project EMPIR 19NET03 supportBSS that contributes to the establishment of a European Metrology Network (EMN) for Radiation Protection (RP). The EMN-RP was established in September 2021 with the intent to work as a meeting point for the metrology community and all stakeholders in the field of ionising radiation regulation, thus providing quality assurance for measurements in each of the exposure situations contemplated in the European Legislation. Within project EMPIR 19NET03, work package 3 aims at the preparation of a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) by identifying the metrology needs to support the European legislation and regulation in Radiation Protection and of two Roadmaps for metrology services, one under the European Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM and the other under the EURATOM Treaty.

Construction of a radiation beam scanner and investigation of volume averaging correction factor effects on beam-profile.

In radiation beam-profile measurements, an accurate positioning of the detector with high position resolution is essential. For this purpose, we built a scanning device capable of moving a detector in three dimensions (3D) using mainly parts from a commercial 3D-printer. The accuracy and repeatability of movement was tested with caliper, laser displacement sensor and repeated 60Co beam-profile measurements in a water phantom.

Current status of diagnostic reference levels in interventional cardiology.

Interventional cardiology provides indisputable benefits for patients but uses a substantial amount of ionising radiation. The diagnostic reference level (DRL) is the tool recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection to optimise imaging procedures. In this work, a review of studies dealing with radiation dose or recommending DRL values for interventional cardiology since 2010 is presented, providing quantitative and qualitative results.

Staff eye lens dose in interventional radiology and cardiology in Finland.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the eye lens and whole-body radiation doses to interventional radiology and cardiology staff in two Finnish hospitals.

Methods: Simultaneous measurements of personal dose equivalent quantities H(3) and H(10) were conducted in clinical conditions during different radiological and cardiological interventional procedures. In order to study the feasibility to estimate eye lens dose with H(10) measured over the protective apron or thyroid shield, the ratio between measured H(3) and H(10) was investigated.

Dental cone beam CT: An updated review.

Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a diverse 3D x-ray imaging technique that has gained significant popularity in dental radiology in the last two decades. CBCT overcomes the limitations of traditional two-dimensional dental imaging and enables accurate depiction of multiplanar details of maxillofacial bony structures and surrounding soft tissues. In this review article, we provide an updated status on dental CBCT imaging and summarise the technical features of currently used CBCT scanner models, extending to recent developments in scanner technology, clinical aspects, and regulatory perspectives on dose optimisation, dosimetry, and diagnostic reference levels.

Recommendations for the use of active personal dosemeters (APDs) in interventional workplaces in hospitals.

Occupational radiation doses from interventional procedures have the potential to be relatively high. The requirement to optimise these doses encourages the use of electronic or active personal dosimeters (APDs) which are now increasingly used in hospitals. They are typically used in tandem with a routine passive dosimetry monitoring programme, with APDs used for real-time readings, for training purposes and when new imaging technology is introduced.

PATIENT-SPECIFIC DOSE ESTIMATES IN DYNAMIC COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY MYOCARDIAL PERFUSION EXAMINATION.

The study aimed to implement realistic source models of a computed tomography (CT) scanner and Monte Carlo simulations to actual patient data and to calculate patient-specific organ and effective dose estimates for patients undergoing dynamic CT myocardial perfusion examinations. Source models including bowtie filter, tube output and x-ray spectra were determined for a dual-source Siemens Somatom Definition Flash scanner. Twenty CT angiography patient datasets were merged with a scaled International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) 110 voxel phantom.

ESTIMATION OF HP(3) AMONG STAFF MEMBERS IN TWO NUCLEAR MEDICINE UNITS IN FINLAND.

The eye lens exposure among 16 technicians in two nuclear medicine departments at university hospitals in Finland was investigated by measuring the operational quantity Hp(3) using EYE-D dosemeters. For all workers, the annual mean Hp(3) was estimated to be 1.1 mSv (max.

Calculated beam quality correction factors for ionization chambers in MV photon beams.

The beam quality correction factor, [Formula: see text], which corrects for the difference in the ionization chamber response between the reference and clinical beam quality, is an integral part of radiation therapy dosimetry. The uncertainty of [Formula: see text] is one of the most significant sources of uncertainty in the dose determination. To improve the accuracy of available [Formula: see text] data, four partners calculated [Formula: see text] factors for 10 ionization chamber models in linear accelerator beams with accelerator voltages ranging from 6 MV to 25 MV, including flattening-filter-free (FFF) beams.

CONTEMPORARY RADIATION DOSES IN INTERVENTIONAL CARDIOLOGY: A NATIONWIDE STUDY OF PATIENT SKIN DOSES IN FINLAND.

In contemporary interventional cardiology, for typical elderly patients, the most severe radiation-related harm to patients can be considered to come from skin exposures. In this paper, maximum local skin doses in cardiological procedures are explored with Gafchromic film dosimetry. Film and reader calibrations and reading were performed at the Secondary Standards Dosimetry Laboratory of the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK), and data were gathered from seven hospitals in Finland.

CONTEMPORARY RADIATION DOSES IN INTERVENTIONAL CARDIOLOGY: A NATIONWIDE STUDY OF PATIENT DOSES IN FINLAND.

The amount of interventional procedures such as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), pacemaker implantation (PI) and ablations has increased within the previous decade. Simultaneously, novel fluoroscopy mainframes enable lower radiation doses for patients and operators. Therefore, there is a need to update the existing diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) and propose new ones for common or recently introduced procedures.

CT beam dosimetric characterization procedure for personalized dosimetry.

Personalized dosimetry in computed tomography (CT) can be realized by a full Monte Carlo (MC) simulation of the scan procedure. Essential input data needed for the simulation are appropriate CT x-ray source models and a model of the patient's body which is based on the CT image. The purpose of this work is to develop comprehensive procedures for the determination of CT x-ray source models and their verification by comparison of calculated and measured dose distributions in physical phantoms.

Establishing the European diagnostic reference levels for interventional cardiology.

Interventional cardiac procedures may be associated with high patient doses and therefore require special attention to protect the patients from radiation injuries such as skin erythema, cardiovascular tissue reactions or radiation-induced cancer. In this study, patient exposure data is collected from 13 countries (37 clinics and nearly 50 interventional rooms) and for 10 different procedures. Dose data was collected from a total of 14,922 interventional cardiology procedures.

Potential occupational exposures in diagnostic and interventional radiology: statistical modeling based on Finnish national dose registry data.

Background: Radiation worker categorization and exposure monitoring practices must be proportional to the current working environment.

Purpose: To analyze exposure data of Finnish radiological workers and to estimate the magnitude and frequency of their potential occupational radiation exposure, and to propose appropriate radiation worker categorization.

Material And Methods: Estimates of the probabilities of annual effective doses exceeding certain levels were obtained by calculating the survival function of a lognormal probability density function (PDF) fitted in the measured occupational exposure data.

NEUTRON FIELD CHARACTERISTICS AT RADIATION METROLOGY LABORATORY OF STUK.

Radiation metrology laboratory at Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) is Finnish national laboratory for ionizing radiation. In order to establish personal dose equivalent available for neutron calibration service, a project was started to evaluate the neutron reference fields in the present facility. The irradiation room conditions were characterized in order to establish reference conditions for personal dose equivalent.

CALIBRATION AND USE OF A PENCIL-TYPE CT CHAMBER: EFFECT OF THE PMMA BODY PHANTOM.

A pencil-type ionization chamber commonly used in computed tomography (CT) dosimetry is usually calibrated free in air, but used inside a PMMA CT phantom. Measurements and Monte Carlo simulations are used to investigate the validity of chamber calibration in this situation where the body phantom modifies the x-ray spectrum impinging on the chamber. The results for the PTW 30009 chamber indicate that the additional uncertainty in CT dose index (CTDIw) measurement introduced by the phantom is ~1% or less.

Imaging practices and radiation doses from imaging in radiotherapy.

Modern radiotherapy treatments require frequent imaging for accurate patient positioning relative to the therapeutic radiation beam. Imaging practices in five Finnish radiotherapy clinics were assessed and discussed from the patient dose optimization point of view. The results show that imaging strategies are not jointly established and variations exist.

Novel Equipment for In Situ Alpha Spectrometry with Good Energy Resolution.

An approach for in situ alpha spectrometry that allows one to measure the spectra with good energy resolution at ambient air pressure has been developed recently. Here, novel equipment is introduced for in situ measurements. Neither vacuum pumps nor radiochemical sample processing are necessary.

Characterisation of grids of point detectors in maximum skin dose measurement in fluoroscopically-guided interventional procedures.

Purpose: Point detectors are frequently used to measure patient's maximum skin dose (MSD) in fluoroscopically-guided interventional procedures (IP). However, their performance and ability to detect the actual MSD are rarely evaluated. The present study investigates the sampling uncertainty associated with the use of grids of point detectors to measure MSD in IP.