HOW DO HOSPITAL STERILISATION PROCEDURES AFFECT THE RESPONSE OF PERSONAL EXTREMITY RINGS AND OF EYE LENS TL DOSEMETERS?

Stringent standards of hygiene must be applied in medical institutions, especially at operating blocks or during interventional radiology procedures. Medical equipment, including personal dosemeters that have to be worn by medical staff during such procedures, needs therefore to be sterilised. In this study, the effect of various sterilisation procedures has been tested on the dose response of extremity rings and of eye lens dosemeters in which thermoluminescent (TL) detectors (of types MTS-N and MCP-N, respectively) are used. The effects of medical sterilisation procedures were studied: by chemicals, by steam or by ultraviolet (UV), on the dose assessment by extremity rings and by eye lens dosemeters. Since it often happens that a dosemeter is accidentally machine-washed together with protective clothing, the effect of laundering on dose assessment by these dosemeters was also tested. The sterilisation by chemicals is mostly safe for TL detectors assuming that the dosemeters are waterproofed. Following sterilisation by water vapour, the response of these dosemeters diminished by some 30 %, irrespectively of the period of sterilisation; therefore, this method is not recommended. UV sterilisation can be applied to EYE-D™ eye lens dosemeters if their encapsulation is in black. The accidental dosemeter laundry in a washing machine has no impact on measured dose.