Local typical dose estimates based on dose area product and associated cancer risk for conventional radiography in Northern Morocco
摘要
The increase in the use of medical imaging procedures involving ionizing radiation has resulted in major radiation protection concerns. Patient safety and dose optimization are now at the heart of public health issues.
MethodsThis retrospective study was conducted over 5 months (February-June 2025). Dosimetric data from 180 adult patients were collected (kV, mAs, Dose–Area Product (DAP)). Six examinations from conventional radiology examinations were considered: Thorax posterior anterior (PA), abdomen anterior posterior (AP), pelvis (AP), lumbar spine lateral (lat), lumbar spine AP, and cervical spine lat. To estimate the effective dose and lifetime cancer risk, conversion coefficients assigned by NRPB-SR262 and ICRP were used. The median of the DAP distribution was used to establish the local typical dose for each examination.
ResultsExposure parameters varied significantly between anatomical regions. The AP and lateral lumbar spine had the highest mean DAP values (1.93 Gy-cm2, 2.21 Gy-cm2, respectively), whereas the PA thorax had the lowest mean DAP value (0.088 Gy-cm2). All median DAP values were below the international DRLs except for the lumbar spine AP and the cervical spine lat. The estimated effective dose ranged from 0.014 mSv (thoracic AP) to 0.425 mSv (lumbar AP), with corresponding cancer risk estimates ranging from 0.71 to 21.27 cases per million examinations.
ConclusionsThis is the first study in this region of Morocco to evaluate patient radiation exposure in conventional radiography using dose area product (DAP) as the dosimetric indicator. Overall, most results are encouraging and indicate optimized practices. The local typical doses recommended in this work will enable continued dose monitoring and audit processes.