IAEA

International Atomic Energy Agency

RADIATION PROTECTION IN
DIAGNOSTIC AND
INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY
Part 12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room design
Practical exercise
IAEA Training Material on Radiation Protection in Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology
IAEA
12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room design 2
Overview and Objectives
Subject matter: design and shielding
calculation of a diagnostic radiology
department
Step by step procedure to be followed
Interpretation of results
IAEA
International Atomic Energy Agency
Part 12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room
design
Design and shielding calculation of a
diagnostic radiology department
Practical exercise
IAEA Training Material on Radiation Protection in Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology
IAEA
12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room design 4
Radiation Shielding Calculation
Based on NCRP 147, Structural Shielding
Design for Medical X-Ray Imaging Facilities.
Assumptions used are conservative, so
over-shielding is typical
Computer software is available, giving
shielding in thickness of various materials

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12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room design 5
Radiation Shielding Calculation
NCRP 147
Provides methods to calculate the thickness of
shielding needed to decrease the kerma in a
shielded area to P/T
P = the weekly permitted kerma in the occupied area
T = the occupancy factor, the average fraction of time
that the maximally exposed individual is present while
the x-ray beam is on.
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12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room design 6
Radiation Shielding Calculation
NCRP 147 provides
K
1
, the average kerma expected for a patient
procedure
1 m from the x-ray tube in the primary beam (Table
4.5), and,
1 m from the patient from secondary (scatter and
leakage) radiation (Table 4.7)
Then, the unshielded weekly kerma, K
0
at
distance d for N patient procedures per week is

2
1
0
d
N K
K =
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12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room design 7
Radiation Shielding Calculation
Then the acceptable thickness, x, of a
shielding barrier will be that which provides
transmission, B, not in excess of
( ) N K
d T P
K
T P
x B
1
2
0
) / ( /
) ( = =
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12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room design 8
Radiation Shielding Cardiac Cath
Consider a wall in a cardiac cath lab, with
d=4 m, P = 0.02 mGy wk
-1
, T=1, 90 scatter,
N=25 patients wk
-1

From NCRP 147, Table 4.7, for a cardiac
cath lab: K
1
= 2.7 mGy patient
-1

Total unshielded weekly kerma is then

1
2
1 1
0
22 . 4
) 4 (
25 7 . 2


=

= wk mGy
m
wk pat pat mGy
K
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12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room design 9
Radiation Shielding Cardiac Cath
Required transmission is


Look at transmission curve for secondary
radiation from Cardiac Cath Lab (NCRP 147,
Fig. C.2) Requires 1.2 mm Pb.

0047 . 0
22 . 4
02 . 0 /
1
1
0
= = =

wk mGy
wk mGy
K
T P
B
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12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room design 10
Shielding Calculation Cardiac Cath
B=0.0047
x =1.2 mm Pb
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12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room design 11
Radiation Shielding R-F Room
For general radiographic or fluoroscopic rooms,
the x-ray tube(s) may generate primary beams
directed at a number of barriers, as well as scatter
and leakage radiations from these beams
NCRP 147 4.5 specifies thicknesses required for
primary and secondary barriers in these rooms as
a function of NT/(Pd
2
)
Note that NCRP 147 4.5 accounts for all primary
and secondary radiation sources in the room.
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12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room design 12
Radiation Shielding R-F Room
Consider the floor in a general
radiographic room.
Let N = 125 patients wk
-1
, d =
3.8 m, P = 0.02 mGy wk
-1
,
T = 1.
Then NT/Pd
2
= 432 mGy
-1
m
-2
,
which, from Fig. 4.6a, requires
110 mm of concrete.
This ignores attenuation in the
image receptor and its
supports.

Fully occupied
uncontrolled
area
3.8 m
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12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room design 13
Shielding Calculation R-F Room
NCRP 147
Fig 4.6a
NT/(Pd
2
) = 432
mGy
-1
m
-2
,
requiring a floor
thickness of 110
mm standard
density concrete

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12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room design 14
Radiation Shielding CT Scanner
Computed tomography (CT) scanners will
generate scatter and leakage radiation to the
environs of the room.
For every 10 mm of x-ray beam width, the
intensity of this secondary radiation at 1 m is
a fraction, k, of the peripheral CTDI
100
.
Head scans: k = 910
-5

Body scans: k = 310
-4


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12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room design 15
Radiation Shielding CT Scanner
Since the product of the CTDI used for each
patient and the thickness of the patient imaged is
the Dose Length Product, DLP, the unshielded
kerma at 1 m from each patient is:




The DLP values can be read off of the scanner, or
from European Commission Guidelines:
DLP = 1,200 mGy cm for heads
DLP = 550 mGy cm for bodies

head head head CT
DLP mGy K =k ) (
1
body body body CT
DLP mGy K = k 2 . 1 ) (
1
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12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room design 16
Radiation Shielding CT Scanner
Consider a barrier in a CT scanner room,
with P = 0.02 mGy wk
-1
, T = 1, d=3 m, 200
patients wk
-1
(125 bodies + 75 heads), with
40% of patients having scans both pre- and
post-contrast medium injection



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12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room design 17
Radiation Shielding CT Scanner
The unshielded kerma per head patient at 1 m is:


The unshielded kerma per body patient at 1 m is:


So total unshielded weekly kerma at 1 m is


mGy cm mGy cm K
head CT
15 . 0 1200 ) 10 9 ( 4 . 1
1 5 1
= =

mGy cm mGy cm K
body CT
28 . 0 550 ) 10 3 ( 2 . 1 4 . 1
1 4 1
= =

mGy
pat body pat head K
pat body
mGy
pat head
mGy
3 . 46
28 . 0 125 15 . 0 75
0
1
=
+ =
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12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room design 18
Radiation Shielding CT Scanner
The unshielded weekly kerma at 3 m is



The transmission required in this barrier is


which, from NCRP 147 Figs. A2 and A3, at 140
kVp, is achieved by
1.52 mm Pb, or,
150 mm standard density concrete
mGy
m
mGy
K 14 . 5
) 3 (
3 . 46
2
0
= =
3
10 9 . 3
14 . 5
02 . 0

= =
mGy
mGy
B
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12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room design 19
Shielding Calculation CT Scanner
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Lead Thickness (mm)
1E-4
1E-3
1E-2
1E-1
1E+0
2
4
6
8
2
4
6
8
2
4
6
8
2
4
6
8
T
r
a
n
s
m
i
s
s
i
o
n
Transmission of CT Scanner
Secondary Radiation Through Pb
140 kVp
120 kVp
Fitting parameters to Equation B.2
kVp o (mm
-1
) | (mm
-1
)
120 2.246 5.73 0.547
140 2.009 3.99 0.342
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0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Concrete Thickness (mm)
1E-5
1E-4
1E-3
1E-2
1E-1
1E+0
2
4
6
8
2
4
6
8
2
4
6
8
2
4
6
8
2
4
6
8
T
r
a
n
s
m
i
s
s
i
o
n
Transmission of CT Scanner Secondary
Radiation Through Concrete
140 kVp
120 kVp
Fitting parameters to Equation B.2
kVp o (mm
-1
) | (mm
-1
)
120 0.0383 0.0142 0.658
140 0.0336 0.0122 0.519
12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room design 20
Shielding Calculation CT Scanner
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12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room design 21
Radiation Shielding CT Scanner
Note that, should the ceiling require added
shielding, wall shielding should be extended
up to the ceiling in order to cover the gap
above the normal shielding height.
CT Scanner
Additional Pb required on ceiling
ADD Pb to wall
above 2.1 m
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12.1 : Shielding and X-ray room design 22
Where to Get More Information
National Council on Radiation Protection
and Measurements, Report 147, Structural
Shielding Design for Medical X-Ray Imaging
Facilities, NCRP, Bethesda, MD. 2004