Active Eye Lens Dosimetry With Dosepix: Influence of Measurement Position and Lead Glass Shielding

Abstract

In this work, the effect of the measurement position on measurements of Hp(3) of a new active eye lens dosemeter prototype (ELD) based on the Dosepix detector is examined. A comparison between measuring directly in front of the eye and measuring at the side of the head of an Alderson phantom showed no significant influence on the resulting Hp(3) for different radiation qualities and angles. In addition, to account for the absorption effect of radiation safety glasses, pieces of lead glass were attached to the front and side of the dosemeter. The challenging geometry of the human face, when additionally equipped with absorbing glasses and irradiated at different angles of radiation incidence, led to a complex irradiation setup, whereby the dosemeter cannot be placed at the real point of interest, i.e., directly in front of the eye. Corresponding effects and consequences for radiation protection measurements have been investigated by using a human like Alderson head phantom as well as thermoluminescent dosemeters (TLDs) and the active ELD based on the Dosepix detector. For specific angles, the radiation bypassed the radiation safety glasses and lead glass pieces, leading to an increase in the measured Hp(3). Compared to TLDs behind radiation safety glasses, measurements with the lead glass shielded prototype resulted in lower values for Hp(3). Furthermore, the results did not reproduce previous findings where larger dose values were found for Dosepix behind lead glass pieces than for the TLDs behind radiation safety glasses. A possible reason might be that the dimensions of the lead glass pieces are not representative of the radiation safety glasses in front of the eye but, ultimately, it is not yet clear what the main reason for the deviation is. Therefore, it is advisable to test the same methodology in future investigations with other eyewear models and lead glass pieces to investigate whether similar behaviors occur.