Avaliação da dose efetiva recebida por profissionais em radiologia veterinária

Abstract

Radiographic examinations are crucial in the daily operations of hospitals and veterinary clinics due to their financial accessibility and diagnostic speed. However, due to patients’ lack of cooperation, professionals often need to remain in the room to immobilize them during the examination, which can pose risks of radio-induced biological effects. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the effective dose received by professionals who oversee thoracic radiographic examinations in veterinary radiology. The research involved observing and collecting data on thoracic X-ray examinations in dogs and cats over a two-week period, following the routine of veterinary clinics. Subsequently, simulations of these examinations were conducted using an anthropomorphic phantom to represent the professional and acrylic, aluminum, and wooden plates to represent the animals. Exposure during the simulations was based on the technical parameters identified during the examination monitoring stage, where information on the physical characteristics of the animals was also collected. To estimate the annual effective dose received by the professional, thermoluminescent dosimeters were positioned on the chest of the anthropomorphic phantom. It was found that the effective dose values for a single examination for animals of sizes P, M, and G (0.000471 mSv, 0.000483 mSv, and 0.000768 mSv, respectively), as well as the total annual dose (0.825 mSv), are well below the threshold established by CNEN. However, it is worth noting that this study underestimated occupational doses, as it did not consider other X-ray examinations that professionals may oversee, nor possible repetitions of thoracic examinations. Nonetheless, even in this scenario, there are still potential risks of radio-induced biological effects, necessitating caution and the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE).