Radiation Protection In Computed Tomography Installations Recommended Safety Procedures For Installation And Use Of Computed Tomography X Ray Equipment

This code is concerned with the protection of all individuals who may be exposed to radiation emitted by x-ray equipment used in medical diagnosis. The code specifies minimum standards of safe design, construction, & performance for x-ray equipment; presents recommended practices for minimizing patient & operator exposures and ensuring that diagnostic x-ray equipment is used in a safe manner; supplies information & methods for calculating or otherwise determining the effectiveness & adequacy of radiation shielding; and sets out the relative responsibilities of the facility owner, responsible user, operator, and other personnel.

The International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources (BSS), jointly sponsored, inter alia, by the IAEA, ILO, WHO and PAHO, establish requirements on the legal persons responsible for designing, running and decommissioning practices involving ionizing radiation. These requirements are basic and general in nature. This report is intended to be of assistance to both regulators and users of radiation sources in diagnostic radiology and interventional procedures using X rays in applying the BSS to this practice. Regulators will find it useful for reviewing applications for authorization and for the inspection of the practice. Users of radiation in radiology may follow the guidance provided in order to comply with BSS requirements or equivalent national requirements. Experts recruited on IAEA missions to advise on the implementation of the BSS for the practice of diagnostic radiology and interventional procedures using X rays are expected to use this regulatory guidance report rather than their own national regulations and guidance. --Publisher's description.

Report No. 147 (2004) presents recommendations and technical information related to the design and installation of structural shielding for facilities that use x rays for medical imaging. The purpose of structural shielding is to limit radiation exposure to employees and members of the public. The information supersedes the recommendations that address such facilities in NCRP Report No. 49, Structural Shielding Design and Evaluation for Medical Use of X Rays and Gamma Rays of Energies Up to 10 MeV, which was issued in September 1976. NCRP Report No. 147 includes a discussion of the various factors to be considered in the selection of appropriate shielding materials and in the calculation of barrier thicknesses. The Report presents the fundamentals of radiation shielding, discusses shielding design goals for controlled and uncontrolled areas in or near x-ray imaging facilities and defines the relationship of these goals to the NCRP effective dose limits for radiation workers and members of the public. The Report includes a detailed discussion of the recommended shielding design methodology for x-ray imaging facilities and provides an extensive collection of shielding data and sample shielding calculations for various types of x-ray imaging facilities. The Report is mainly intended for those individuals who specialize in radiation protection. However, it will also be of interest to architects, hospital administrators and related professionals concerned with the planning of new facilities that use x rays for medical imaging.