• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.65-76
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• 2010

Purpose: he use of PET scanners and the number of patient in Korea have been increased for recent several years dramatically. For this reason, technologists have more possibilities to be exposed to the radiation. The hospitals using PET scanners should make an effort to reduce the radiation exposure dose. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the radiation exposure does when using radiation shielding devices. The evaluation was performed through questionnaire survey and experiment. Materials and Methods: First, the technologists who had experience working in PET center in 2008-2009 were surveyed with questionnaire and TLD Figures, personal opinion of utilization of radiation shielding devices are analyzed. Second, we measured the shielding rate of shielding devices which have been using in PET study procedures. We divided the procedures into four steps; distribution, moving, injection of $^{18}F$-FDG and patient setup. Results: First, the results of this survey, using of L-block+Syringe shield, L-block, Syringe shield, No shield during the injection, were each 58.5%, 20%, 9%, 12.3%. The TLD values according to utilization of radiation shield, using both L-block+Syringe Shield and L-block showed the lower TLD values, and Syringe shield only or No shield showed the higher TLD values. Second, the results of experiments according to PET study procedures measured the shielding rates as follows. The shielding rates during the distribution using L-block, L-block+Apron shield were measured 97.4%, 97.7%. The shielding rates during the $^{18}F$-FDG delivery to the injection room using mobile Syringe shield, Syringe holder, Syringe shield carrier were each 81.7%, 98.9%, 99.7%. The shielding rates during the injection using Syringe shield, L-block, L-block+Syringe shield were measured each 51.9%, 98.3%, 98.7%. The shielding rates of Apron were measured in each 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 cm distance. The measurement were each 16.9%, 14.2%, 16.6%, 17.1%, 18.1%, 18.6%. Conclusion: The most effective method for radiation shielding is to using L-block during the $^{18}F$-FDG distribution and Syringe shield carrier during in moving $^{18}F$-FDG. For the $^{18}F$-FDG injection, L-block+Syringe shield have to be used. The shielding effect of Apron has shown average 16.4%. According to the survey of questionnaire, the operators recognized well risk of the radiation exposure but, tended ignore in working. The radiation dose according to recognition of radiation exposure risk was not relevant. but radiation dose according to utilization of radiation shield lower the more use it. The main reason of no use of shielding devices is cumbersome, 55% of the respondents answered. I'm sure, by use of radiation shield in all PET procedure, radiation exposure will be reduced considerably.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.282-288
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• 2015

A monte carlo simulation about shielding material and thickness of the syringe shield for radiation shield was performed. As a result of analysis, high atomic number materials such as tungsten, lead and bismuth have the highest shielding effect. However, $^{18}F$, $^{67}Ga$ and $^{111}In$ show high energy distribution in the region with thin shielding thickness. As the thickness of shielding materials increased, the energy distribution decreased due to reduction of ${\gamma}$-ray. In the case of low atomic number materials, they, showed energy distribution from highest to lowest, were barium sulfate, steel, stainless, iron and copper. Aluminum, plastic, concrete and water showed diverse aspect. they showed relatively high energy distribution because of increased ${\gamma}$-ray that penetrate the shield.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.375-382
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• 2020

PET/CT is a medical equipment that detects 0.511 MeV of gamma rays. The radiation workers are inevitably exposed to ionizing radiation in the process of handling the isotope. Accordingly, PET/CT workers use syringe shields made of lead and tungsten to protect their hands. However, lead and tungsten are known to generate very high scattering particles by interacting with gamma rays. Therefore, in this study, we tried to find out the effect on the scattering particles emitted from the syringe shield. In the experiment, first, the exposure dose to the hand (Rod phantom) was evaluated according to the metal material (lead, tungsten, iron, stainless steel) using Monte Carlo simulation. The exposure dose was compared according to whether or not plastic is attached. Second, the exposure dose of scattering particles was measured using a dosimeter and lead. As a result of the experiment, the shielding rate of plastics using the Monte Carlo simulation showed the largest difference in dose of about 40 % in lead, and the lowest in iron, about 15 %. As a result of the dosimeter test, when the plastic tape was wound on lead, it was found that the reduction rate was about 15 %, 28 %, and 39 % depending on the thickness. Based on the above results, it was found that 0.511 MeV of gamma ray interacts with the shielding tool to emit scattered rays and has a very large effect on radiation exposure. However, it was considered that the scattering particles could be sufficiently removed with plastics with a low atomic number. From now on, when using high-energy radiation, the shielding tool and the skin should not be in direct contact, and should be covered with a material with a low atomic number.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.291-296
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• 2019

Nuclear medicine have often used to diagnose cancers. The main absorbed dose from radiation to a radiation worker resulted from open radioisotopes. Methods for reducing the radiation dose to a radiation worker from radioisotopes injected to patients were studied. The shield device of 0.2 mmPb was manufactured as a size of $300mm{\times}500mm{\times}150mm$. By using dosimeters of Nanodot, the absorbed doses for thyroid, chest and genital organ were measured with and without a shielding device and with syringe shield and shielding device together. The highest absorbed dose of 0.908 mGy reduction of 20.8% as 0.719 mGy was in the genital organ by using the syringe shield and a shielding device together. A effective dose for a radiation worker during 1 year was expected to 1.223 mSv at the chest, which was decrease as 0.994 mSv by shielding device and syringe shield together. When open radioisotope is injected to a patient for examination, the only use of a shielding device results in the reduction of radiation dose to radiation workers.

• Proceedings of the Korea Contents Association Conference
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• 2015.05a
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• pp.175-176
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• 2015

몬테카를로 기법을 기반으로 한 모의실험을 통해 방사성 핵종별 주사기 차폐기구의 재질 및 두께에 대한 차폐분석 결과, 텅스텐, 납, 비스무스 경우 가장 높은 차폐효과를 보였다. 그러나 $^{18}F$ 선원의 경우, 차폐두께가 낮은 영역에서 저 원자번호 재질보다 더 높은 에너지를 나타냈으나, 이후 증가된 차폐두께에서는 더 낮은 에너지 분포를 나타냈다. 그 외 재질의 경우 구리, 철, 스테인리스 강, 황산바륨의 순서로 에너지가 낮은 분포를 나타냈고, 알루미늄, 플라스틱, 콘크리트, 물의 경우 핵종별로 각기 다른 양상을 나타냈으며, 상대적으로 감마선의 투과의 증가로 인해 전체적으로 차폐효과가 떨어지는 것으로 나타냈다.

• Proceedings of the Korea Contents Association Conference
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• 2014.11a
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• pp.431-432
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• 2014

본 연구는 핵의학과에서 사용하는 $^{99m}Tc$에서 방출되는 광자에너지에 대하여 거리에 따른 인체에 대한 선량당량을 평가하였다. 그 결과 주사기 차폐기구 유무에 따라 선량당량이 차이를 보였으며, 심부선량은 차폐를 하지 않은 경우 평균 $216.026{\mu}Gy/h$, 1 mm 텅스텐 차폐를 하였을 경우 평균 $4.240{\mu}Gy/h$, 2 mm 텅스텐의 경우 평균 0.124 uGy/h의 선량을 보였다. 이에 따라 주사기 차폐기구를 필수적으로 사용하여야 하며 종사자 개개인의 피폭 관리에 항상 유념하여야 한다. 또한 본 연구결과를 바탕으로 종사자의 피폭 감소 방안에 대한 연구가 지속적으로 이루어 져야할 것으로 생각된다.

• Korean Journal of Digital Imaging in Medicine
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.1-7
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• 2014

This study is to increase the accuracy of the diagnosis of benign prostatic hyperplasia by presenting a method that can accurately measure the residual urine amount of the bladder by using an ultrasound image. Agar powder, Propanol and distilled water were used as materials for making a phantom. In order to measure the volume, a $10m{\ell}$ cylinder, syringe and beaker were used. The image was obtained by scanning phantoms produced into six shapes. Each constant value was obtained by using the expression designed to measure the residual urine amount of the bladder and was compared and analyzed. The measuring method of Bladder volume was presented and a constant value for each shape was obtained and five observers measured it five times. According to the results of clinical application, the errors of Ellipse-beanbag, Shield-shield were 11.0%, 18.2%, respectively. Constant values depending on the shape of each phantom were presented in order to accurately measure the volume of the bladder in measuring the amount of residual urine for the diagnosis of benign prostatic hyperplasia. The accuracy of the volume using this was verified statistically(p > 0.05). Therefore, it is considered to be useful in diagnosing benign prostatic hyperplasia by using the ultrasound imaging measuring method presented.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.95-100
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• 2017

In this study, the bacterial contamination level of equipments and devices in the nuclear medicine department of a university hospital was investigated. CNS was detected from the sample collected from the door opening button of the nuclear medicine department. Bacillus sp. was detected from the table and CNS with Bacillus sp. were detected from the control button at the PET-CT room no.1. Also, CNS was detected from the table and the control button at the PET-CT room no.2. In the distribution room no.1, CNS and Bacillus sp. were detected while CNS being detected from the distribution room no.2 and CNS with Bacillus sp. being detected from the distribution room no.3. In the injection room, Enterrococcus faecium and Pontoea sp. were detected. On the table of the ecsomatics room, Pontoea sp. was detected. Bacillus sp. was detected from the inside of the syringe Pb shield and CNS was detected from the outside. Enterrococcus faecium was detected from the Gamma camera table and Bacillus sp. was detected from the door grip. On the chair at the patient waiting room, Pseudomonas aeruginosa abd Bacillus sp. were detected. Therefore, it was understood that infection should be prevented by securely sterilizing examination devices after each examination, maintaining cleanliness by regular sterilization of waiting chairs and such objects with a number of direct contacts with patients, and infection education for the features of nuclear department.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.32-36
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• 2016

Purpose In nuclear medicine examination, $^{131}I$ is widely used in nuclear medicine examination such as diagnosis, treatment, and others of thyroid cancer and other diseases. $^{131}I$ conducts examination and treatment through emission of ${\gamma}$ ray and ${\beta}^-$ ray. Since $^{131}I$ (364 keV) contains more energy compared to $^{99m}Tc$ (140 keV) although it displays high integrated rate and enables quick discharge through kidney, the objective of this study lies in comparing the difference in exposure dose of $^{131}I$ before and after wearing apron when handling $^{131}I$ with focus on 3 elements of external exposure protection that are distance, time, and shield in order to reduce the exposure to technicians in comparison with $^{99m}Tc$ during the handling and administration process. When wearing apron (in general, Pb 0.5 mm), $^{99m}Tc$ presents shield of over 90% but shielding effect of $^{131}I$ is relatively low as it is of high energy and there may be even more exposure due to influence of scattered ray (secondary) and bremsstrahlung in case of high dose. However, there is no special report or guideline for low dose (74 MBq) high energy thus quantitative analysis on exposure dose of technicians will be conducted based on apron wearing during the handling of $^{131}I$. Materials and Methods With patients who visited Department of Nuclear Medicine of our hospital for low dose $^{131}I$ administration for thyroid cancer and diagnosis for 7 months from Jun 2014 to Dec 2014 as its subject, total 6 pieces of TLD was attached to interior and exterior of apron placed on thyroid, chest, and testicle from preparation to administration. Then, radiation exposure dose from $^{131}I$ examination to administration was measured. Total procedure time was set as within 5 min per person including 3 min of explanation, 1 min of distribution, and 1 min of administration. In regards to TLD location selection, chest at which exposure dose is generally measured and thyroid and testicle with high sensitivity were selected. For preparation, 74 MBq of $^{131}I$ shall be distributed with the use of $2m{\ell}$ syringe and then it shall be distributed after making it into dose of $2m{\ell}$ though dilution with normal saline. When distributing $^{131}I$ and administering it to the patient, $100m{\ell}$ of water shall be put into a cup, distributed $^{131}I$ shall be diluted, and then oral administration to patients shall be conducted with the distance of 1m from the patient. The process of withdrawing $2m{\ell}$ syringe and cup used for oral administration was conducted while wearing apron and TLD. Apron and TLD were stored at storage room without influence of radiation exposure and the exposure dose was measured with request to Seoul Radiology Services. Results With the result of monthly accumulated exposure dose of TLD worn inside and outside of apron placed on thyroid, chest, and testicle during low dose $^{131}I$ examination during the research period divided by number of people, statistics processing was conducted with Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test using SPSS Version. 12.0K. As a result, it was revealed that there was no significant difference since all of thyroid (p = 0.345), chest (p = 0.686), and testicle (p = 0.715) were presented to be p > 0.05. Also, when converting the change in total exposure dose during research period into percentage, it was revealed to be -23.5%, -8.3%, and 19.0% for thyroid, chest, and testicle respectively. Conclusion As a result of conducting Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test, it was revealed that there is no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05). Also, in case of calculating shielding rate with accumulate exposure dose during 7 months, it was revealed that there is irregular change in exposure dose for inside and outside of apron. Although the degree of change seems to be high when it is expressed in percentage, it cannot be considered a big change since the unit of accumulated exposure dose is in decimal points. Therefore, regardless of wearing apron during high energy low dose $^{131}I$ administration, placing certain distance and terminating the administration as soon as possible would be of great assistance in reducing the exposure dose. Although this study restricted $^{131}I$ administration time to be within 5 min per person and distance for oral administration to be 1m, there was a shortcoming to acquire accurate result as there was insufficient number of N for statistics and it could be processed only through non-parametric method. Also, exposure dose per person during lose dose $^{131}I$ administration was measured with accumulated exposure dose using TLD rather than through direct-reading exposure dose thus more accurate result could be acquired when measurement is conducted using electronic dosimeter and pocket dosimeter.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.80-85
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• 2012

Purpose: The whole body bone scan is an examination that visualizing physiological change of bones and using bone-congenial radiopharmaceutical. The patients are intravenous injected radiopharmaceutical which labeled with radioactive isotope ($^{99m}Tc$) emitting 140 keV gammarays and scanned after injection. The 3 principles of radiation protection from external exposureare time, distance and shielding. On the 3 principles of radiation protection basis, radiopharmaceutical might just as well be injected rapidly for reducing radiation because it might be the unopened radiation source. However the radiopharmaceuticals are injected into patient directly and there is a limitation of distance control. This study confirmed the change of radiation exposure as change of distance from radiopharmaceutical and observed the change of radiation exposure afte rsetting a shelter for help to control radio-technician's exposure. Materials & methods: For calculate the average of injection time, the trained injector measured the injection time for 50 times and calculated the average (2 minutes). We made a source as filled the 99mTc-HDP 925 MBq 0.2 mL in a 1 mL syringe and measured the radiation exposure from 50 cm,100 cm,150 cm and 200 cm by using Geiger-Mueller counter (FH-40, Thermo Scientific, USA). Then we settled a lead shielding (lead equivalent 6 mm) from the source 25 cm distance and measured the radiation exposure from 50 cm distance. For verify the reproducibility, the measurement was done among 20 times. The correlation between before and after shielding was verified by using SPSS (ver. 18) as paired t-test. Results: The radiation doses according to distance during 2 minutes from the source without shielding were $1.986{\pm}0.052{\mu}$ Sv in 50 cm, $0.515{\pm}0.022{\mu}$ Sv in 100 cm, $0.251{\pm}0.012{\mu}$ Sv in 150 cm, $0.148{\pm}0.006{\mu}$ Sv in 200 cm. After setting the shielding, the radiation dose was $0.035{\pm}0.003{\mu}$ Sv. Therefore, there was a statistical significant difference between the radiation doses with shielding and without shielding ($p$<0.001). Conclusion: Because the great importance of whole body bone scan in the nuclear medicine, we should make an effort to reduce radiation exposure during radiopharmaceutical injections by referring the principles of radiation protection from external exposure. However there is a limitation of distance for direct injection and time for patients having attenuated tubules. We confirmed the reduction of radiation exposure by increasing distance. In case of setting shield from source 25 cm away, we confirmed reducing of radiation exposure. Therefore it would be better for reducing of radiation exposure to using shield during radiopharmaceutical injection.