![]() Our reliance on protective lead garments to shield us from the biologic effects of radiation exposure and the inferiority of some lightweight garments necessitate a streamlining of the testing methods and transparency in data reporting by manufacturers.Īpron Endovascular Exposure Radiation Safety.Ĭopyright © 2018 Society for Vascular Surgery. Note that lead aprons absorb 90-95, not 100, of the scattered radiation that reaches it (Table 3). Our study also demonstrates that several companies rate their lightweight garments as 0.5 mm lead equivalent, when actually only a small area on the chest and abdomen where the garment overlapped was 0.5 mm, leaving the rest of the garment with half the protection at 0.25 mm. For reasons of weight, lead aprons generally have shielding equivalence equal to 0.25 0.5 mm lead barrier & so will only attenuate the primary beam. ![]() In addition, there was an incidental finding of a handful of lightweight aprons with significant tears along the seams, leaving large gaps in protection. Pure barium aprons and nonlead aprons from certain companies demonstrated scatter penetration that is inconsistent with the 0.5 mm of lead equivalence as claimed on the label. Our measurements demonstrate a noticeable difference in scatter reduction between pure lead and nonlead garments. At the higher beam quality of 70 kVp, the scatter penetration was 214% and 233% for the blend and barium aprons, respectively, compared with the pure lead apron. Scatter penetration for the nonlead blends and barium aprons was 292% and 258%, respectively, at 60 kVp compared with the pure lead apron. Scatter measurements were made at 60 kVp and 70 kVp for pure lead (0.5 mm), mixed, and nonlead protective garments. ![]() Nonlead aprons from several manufacturers were tested for scatter radiation penetration above the table at a fixed distance (3 feet) and compared with two standard 0.5-mm lead aprons of different manufacturers. A commercial-grade pressurized ion chamber survey meter (Ludlum Model 9DP Ludlum Measurements, Inc, Sweetwater, Tex) was used to detect gamma rays and X-rays above 25 keV. Our goal was to see whether lighter weight garments provide reduced protection.ĭry laboratory testing was performed in a standard X-ray room, using a standard fluoroscopy table and standard acrylic blocks. The industry answered this call with the development of lightweight aprons. Concurrently, there has been a demand for lighter weight aprons. There is also a need for the establishment of appropriate methods and frequencies of routine quality assurance testing of radiation protection aprons.With the explosion of minimally invasive surgery, the use of fluoroscopy has significantly increased. This study indicates that there is a need to establish methods for acceptance testing of aprons and a need to establish acceptance limits for the x-ray transmission of aprons at specific kVp values. The radiation transmissions at 70 kVp, through two "lead-free" 0.5 mm lead equivalent aprons, were 1.7% and 1.9% and at 100 kVp the transmissions were 6.1% and 6.8%, respectively. At 100 kVp, the transmission through the 0.508 mm lead sample was 5% and those through the 0.5 mm lead equivalent materials were 3.5% to 6.7% (mean 4.9%, s.d. The transmission through the 0.508 mm pure lead sample was 0.9% at 70 kVp, and the corresponding transmissions through the 0.5 mm lead equivalent materials were 0.6% to 1.6% (mean 1.0%, s.d. demonstrated a radiation transmission range of 2.97.6 for 0.25 mm lead and 0.42.2 for 0.5 mm lead 8, concurring with previous studies 9, 10. 2.1%) for the 0.25 mm lead equivalent materials. ![]() At 70 kVp, the transmission through 0.254 mm of pure lead was 5.4% and the transmissions through the 0.25 mm lead equivalent materials were 4.3% to 10.2% with a mean value of 7.1% and a standard deviation (s.d.) of 1.4%. In addition, the area densities of the aprons were measured to compare radiation transmission with respect to the weights of the aprons. Transmissions through 0.254 mm and 0.508 mm of pure lead were also measured and were compared with the transmissions through the lead equivalent materials. Transmission measurements were made at 70 kVp and 100 kVp through aprons and protective shields from eight different vendors that were marked 0.25 mm and 0.5 mm lead equivalent. ![]() Separate ionization chambers were used to measure the incident and transmitted x-ray beams. A large area beam (poor geometry) was employed for the transmission measurements, and backscatter was simulated by placing 7" of Lucite behind each apron. A study was conducted to evaluate the radiation transmission through lead equivalent aprons that are used in a radiology department. ![]()
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