Eye lens dose correlations with personal dose equivalent and patient exposure in paediatric interventional cardiology performed with a fluoroscopic biplane system

PurposeTo analyse the correlations between the eye lens dose estimates performed with dosimeters placed next to the eyes of paediatric interventional cardiologists working with a biplane system, the personal dose equivalent measured on the thorax and the patient dose.MethodsThe eye lens dose was estimated in terms of H_p(0.07) on a monthly basis, placing optically stimulated luminescence dosimeters (OSLDs) on goggles. The H_p(0.07) personal dose equivalent was measured over aprons with whole-body OSLDs. Data on patient dose as recorded by the kerma-area product (P_KA) were collected using an automatic dose management system. The 2 paediatric cardiologists working in the facility were involved in the study, and 222 interventions in a 1-year period were evaluated. The ceiling-suspended screen was often disregarded during interventions.ResultsThe annual eye lens doses estimated on goggles were 4.13 ± 0.93 and 4.98 ± 1.28 mSv. Over the aprons, the doses obtained were 10.83 ± 0.99 and 11.97 ± 1.44 mSv. The correlation between the goggles and the apron dose was R² = 0.89, with a ratio of 0.38. The correlation with the patient dose was R² = 0.40, with a ratio of 1.79 μSv Gy⁻¹ cm⁻². The dose per procedure obtained over the aprons was 102 ± 16 μSv, and on goggles 40 ± 9 μSv. The eye lens dose normalized to P_KA was 2.21 ± 0.58 μSv Gy⁻¹ cm⁻².ConclusionsMeasurements of personal dose equivalent over the paediatric cardiologist’s apron are useful to estimate eye lens dose levels if no radiation protection devices are typically used.