Abstract— Interventional Radiology is the radiology modali- ty that provides the highest dose values to medical staff. Recent researches show that personal dosimeters may underestimate dose values in interventional physicians, especially in extremi- ties and eye lens. The aim of this work was to study radiation exposure levels of medical staff in different hemodynamics interventional radiology procedures. Dosimeters were posi- tioned in different body regions of the interventional physician. Dose values were compared with annual dose limits for work- ers thus finding the maximum number of annual procedures that each physician could perform. As each body region of the interventionist is subject to different levels of exposure, dose distribution in each region provides a better approach to what actions are necessary to ensure the radiological protection of medical staff. Keywords— radiation protection, dosimetry, interventional radiology. I. INTRODUCTION Interventional Radiology (IR) is the area of radiology that provides the highest doses of radiation for medical staff [1-2]. Diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in IR are per- formed by catheters introduced for percutaneous access and guided by fluoroscopic imaging, identifying vascular le- sions and performing their treatments [3]. High doses of radiation in medical staff are due to the ex- treme proximity to scattered radiation source and the pro- longed exposure during procedures [1-2]. Dose measurements in interventional physicians are dif- ficult to standardize due to the great dynamism found in IR procedure. The professionals who remain closer to the pa- tient receive the highest levels of radiation, since the patient is the main source scattered radiation [4]. Many other factors can influence the level of exposure to medical staff, as the height of the professionals, the posi- tioning in the room, the position of the X-ray tube relative to the table and the patient, proper use of radiological pro- tection vests and especially the total exposure time during the procedure [2; 5]. With so many factors that can influence the exposures in occupationally exposed individuals (OEI), a detailed study of these variations to complement the radiological protec- tion measures is crucial. Studies show that personal dosime- ters may underestimate doses in OEI, especially in the ex- tremities (hands and feet) and in the eye lens [1]. The IR provides unquestionable benefits and replaces ex- tremely invasive and difficult recovery procedures for the patient, however, excessive exposure to radiation can cause severe damage to patients and the health care of profession- als. For this reason, studies that assess the doses received under typical conditions procedures in routine sectors are essential [4; 6]. Thermoluminescent dosimeters are the most widely used radiation dosimeters due to its measurement accuracy, good proportionality response in the diagnostic radiology energy range [1-3; 7-8]. The aim of this study was to investigate the radiation ex- posure profiles in medical staff during different interven- tional procedures in Sector of Hemodynamics, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculty of Medicine of Botucatu (HC-FMB). Based on the dose profiles and the average time of each examination method, the numbers procedures each profes- sional can perform were estimated without exceeded the annual dose limits. II. MATERIALS AND METHODS The work was reviewed by the local Ethics Committe in Research and approved under the CAAE number: 16932513.5.0000.5411. A. Selection of procedures To choose the procedures followed in this paper two cri- teria were used, the total exposure time (fluoroscopy time) and the frequency they are performed. Based on these crite- ria, among all procedures performed in the Hemodynamics Sector of Botucatu Medical School (HC-FMB), one could select three categories: angiography, angioplasty, with or without stents fixation and angioplasty with endoprosthesis fixation (in case of stroke kind aneurysms). The groups Dose Evaluation in Medical Staff during Interventional Radiology Procedures F.A. Bacchim Neto 1 , A.F.F. Alves 1 , M. Alvarez 1 , M.E.D. Rosa 1 , C.C. Macedo de Freitas 2 , R. Moura 3 , D.R. Pina 4 , and J.R.A. Miranda 1 1 Dept. of Physics and Biophysics/Biosciences Institute of Botucatu, Univ. Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Botucatu, Brazil 2 Dept. of Neurology and Psychiatry/Botucatu Medical School, Univ. Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Botucatu, Brazil 3 Dept. of Surgery and Orthopedics /Botucatu Medical School, Univ. Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Botucatu, Brazil 4 Dept. of Tropical Diseases and Diagnosis Imaging/Botucatu Medical School, Univ. Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Botucatu, Brazil {carlosclayton,rmoura,drpina}@fmb.unesp.br, {jmiranda,matheus}@ibb.unesp.br, meudelarosa@gmail.com, allan_ffa@hotmail.com, bacchim_neto@aluno.ibb.unesp.br © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015 A. Braidot and A. Hadad (eds.), VI Latin American Congress on Biomedical Engineering CLAIB 2014, Paraná, Argentina 29, 30 & 31 October 2014, 927 IFMBE Proceedings 49, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-13117-7_235