20. Dose estimation in radiology

According to the IRSN, medical exposure accounts for more than one third of the average annual exposure of an individual. More than 90% of this is due to radiological acts. According to the decree of 6 December 2011 on training and missions of the medical physicist, one of the main missions of medical physicists is “the estimation of the dose to the patient during diagnostic procedures”. This is part of an approach to optimize the doses delivered. The purpose of this presentation is to define the different methods of measurement and calculation of dose in three domains: conventional radiology, interventional radiology and CT. In each area, the various available dosimetric indicators are presented as well as their interests in practice. Estimates of the dose by analytical methods (accessible to physicists) are compared with those carried out by the measurement (according to the detectors most widely used in practice). In conventional radiology and in CT, the principles and practical interests of the various software for the calculation of the effective dose and organ doses are presented. In interventional radiology, the principles and practical interests of the different software for evaluating the maximum dose to the skin are also presented and compared with Gafchromic film.