Energy spectrum measurement of scattered X-rays during IVR procedure

With the increase of the number of interventional radiology (IVR) procedures, the occupational exposure of operators and medical staff has attracted keen attention. The energy of scattered radiation in medical clinical sites is important for estimating the biological effects of occupational exposure. Recent years have seen many reports on the dose of scattered radiation by IVR, but few on the energy spectrum. In this study, the energy spectrum of scattered X-rays was measured by using a cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor detector during IVR on several neurosurgical and cardiovascular cases. The cumulated spectra in each case were compared. The spectra showed little changes among neurosurgical cases and relatively large changes among cardiovascular cases. This was assumed to be due to the change of X-ray tube voltage and tube angle was larger in cardiovascular cases. The resulting energy spectra will be essential for the assessment of detailed biological effects of occupational exposure. (authors)