Radiological assessment of the PET facility

The radiological assessment of a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) facility consists of the evaluation of the annual effective dose to workers exposed occupationally and to members of the public. This evaluation takes into account the radionuclide involved, the characteristics of the facility, the working procedure and the expected number of patients per year. This paper details the methodology used by the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (in Spanish ARN) to independently assess the design of PET facilities considering only radioprotection aspects. The results of the evaluation are compared with the design requirements established in the ARN regulations to determine whether or not, the facility complies with those requirements, both for workers and for members of the public. As an example of the above mentioned methodology, this paper presents the assessment of a PET facility located in Buenos Aires called Fundacion Centro Diagnostico Nuclear (FCDN). (author)