Reference levels in interventional radiology. S.F.P.M. report nr 32

Whereas interventional radiology is a medical imagery technique which displays a very large scope of application (cardiology, neurology, oncology, and so on), and as, because of the duration and complexity of some procedures, doses delivered to patients can be high and induce mainly cutaneous deterministic effects, this report aims at the elaboration of reference levels according to a EURATOM directive. It builds up a comprehensive guide which proposes reference levels in terms of scope, of total number of images, of air kerma at the reference point, and of dose-surface-product for 21 different interventional radiology acts in neuroradiology, vascular radiology and osteo-articular radiology such as arteriography embolisation, biliary drainage, vertebro-plasty, and so on. This multi-centric study is based on data gathered from 36 hospital centres. It can help teams to analyse and compare their practices, and to optimise protocols and the relationship between a minimal dose of ionizing radiations and a clinically acceptable image quality