The Cardiovascular and Interventional Society of Europe (CIRSE) and the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) Safety and Health Committee represent experts in interventional procedures ranging from both the private and academic sectors of medicine.  These Committee members dedicate the majority of their professional time to performing interventional procedure and represent an expertise in their field. The CIRSE and SIR produce safety-related documents from in-depth literature search and critical review.

The Occupational Radiation Protection in Interventional Radiology: A Joint Guideline of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology Society of Europe and the Society of Interventional Radiology was produced in May of 2010  to provide guidance to help minimize occupational radiation dose.

The guideline features a few key learnings:

  • New data from exposed human populations suggest that cataracts occur at doses far lower that previously believed.
  • The ICRP (International Commission on Radiological Protection) recommends that IR departments develop a policy that staff wear 2 dosimeters, one under the apron and one above the apron.
  • Hand doses may also be monitored using an additional dosimeter.
  • It is not possible to accurately estimate an operators hand dose using a body or wrist dosimeter because of the proximity of the hands to the beam.
  • Disposable protective drapes have been shown to reduce operator dose substantially, with reported reductions of 12-fold for the eyes, 26-fold for the thyroid, and 29-fold for the hands.
  • Although their use adds some cost to the procedure, disposable protective drapes should be considered for complex procedures and procedures in which the operators hands must be near the radiation field (dialysis, biliary, etc)
  • Combining various types of shielding results in dramatic dose reductions for the operator.  This should be the norm, rather than the exception.
  • Operators and staff who work in the interventional labs should be provided with properly fitted aprons.

According to the CIRSE and SIR, this guideline is intended to offer a basic review of the medical physics relevant to occupational radiation safety and to provide advice and guidance to interventional radiologists who perform procedures with the guidance of ionizing radiation and their staff. In this document, the emphasis is radiation protection during fluoroscopically guided procedures.