Application of ICRP-103 in the calculation of effective dose associated to nuclear medicine tests

Objective

Re-evaluate the effective dose (E) of typical nuclear medicine procedures using the new ICRP-103 weighting factors and the latest dosimetry data and relate E with Background Equivalent Radiation Time (BERT).

Material and methods

Effective dose associated with radiopharmaceuticals and nuclear medicine procedures has been calculated for the following ages: adult, 15, 10, 5 and 1 year. Dosimetry data have been extracted from ICRP-106, ICRP-80, ICRP-53 and/or manufacturer's brochure.

Results

The relationship of the data of effective dose associated with radiopharmaceuticals and explorations is shown. The new tissue weighting factors result in a decreased value of the effective dose, except in cases that particularly affect the breast, in which it increases. The effective dose associated with nuclear medicine procedures is in the range 0.1–60 mSv. BERT ranges from a few days to 20 years. The effective dose associated to tests in children is generally higher than the effective dose for an adult.

Conclusions

The results shown in this paper are an updated collection of effective dose values for commonly used radiopharmaceuticals in nuclear medicine. Expressing the effective dose equivalent time in units of natural radiation helps to explain issues associated with radiation exposure to patients and healthcare personnel.