Wilson Otto Batista, Maria Rosangela Soares, Jacqueline Machado Gurjão Rios
Background:
The rising demand for diagnostic imaging in veterinary care, driven by factors such as pet health insurance, has led to increased use of radiological procedures. Despite this, occupational and public radiation exposure in veterinary settings remains understudied. This research aims to fill this gap by quantifying effective and equivalent radiation doses received by operators and animal owners (tutors) during radiographic procedures, using advanced simulation techniques.
Methods:
This study employed the Monte Carlo method with the PHITS code and ICRP’s mesh-type reference computational phantoms (MRCPs) to simulate veterinary radiology scenarios. Two main scenarios were modeled: conventional and dental radiology. Simulations accounted for beam angle, tube voltage (kV), and the presence or absence of backscatter shields. Radiation doses were calculated for various anatomical sites, particularly focusing on eye lens exposure.
Results:
Results demonstrated that radiation doses to both operators and tutors increased with higher tube voltages. Notably, the use of a backscatter shield significantly reduced exposure—up to 30-fold in dental radiology. For example, without shielding, operator lens doses reached up to 6.14 µSv, while shielding reduced this to 0.326 µSv. Annual effective doses for operators ranged from 4.3 to 29.7 µSv across varying parameters. While all values remained below ICRP-recommended limits, some exposure scenarios—especially involving dental handheld devices—yielded disproportionately high doses without protective measures.
Limitations:
The study's main limitation lies in the rigid posture of ICRP phantoms, which cannot fully replicate the dynamic positions of individuals in veterinary procedures. Additionally, the use of geometric solids to simulate animals introduces simplifications that may not reflect real anatomical scattering effects.
Conclusions:
Veterinary radiological procedures, particularly dental radiography using handheld devices, pose significant radiation risks if proper safety protocols are neglected. The study reinforces the critical need for adherence to radiological protection guidelines, including the use of backscatter shields and appropriate training. These findings highlight the importance of optimized radiographic techniques and protective practices to maintain occupational and public exposures as low as reasonably achievable.
Geometry constructed to represent the x-ray tubes. (a) Tube and collimator for conventional radiology; and (b) tube, locator cylinder, and backscatter shield for dental radiology.
How did we do?
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