Verification of Caregraph® peak skin dose data using radiochromic film /

by Ozeroglu, Muhammed A.

Title of Thesis: “Verification of Caregraph® Peak Skin Dose Data Using Radiochromic Film” Author: LT Muhammed A. Ozeroglu Master of Science in Public Health Thesis Directed by: Maj Scott A. Nemmers Assistant Professor, Environmental/Occupational Health Division Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics Radiation-induced skin injury during fluoroscopically guided interventional procedures has become an important concern and has been documented for interventional neuroradiology and cardiology procedures.1-4 The risk to any location on the skin increases with the radiation dose to that portion of the skin,3,5,6 and the maximum dose delivered to any portion of the skin during a procedure (the peak skin dose) determines the risk of injury at that point.7,8 Peak skin dose (PSD) may be determined using x-ray film or thermoluminescent dosimeters , but neither provides real-time data. A software program called Caregraph® estimates PSD in real-time based on information from the fluoroscopic unit to which it is linked. The purpose of this study was to compare the skin dose estimates produced by Caregraph® with the PSD data determined with radiochromic dosimetry film placed against the surface of a tissue-simulating phantom in iii configurations simulating actual clinical situations. The radiochromic film was calibrated to include backscatter values at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Caregraph® estimated the PSD to within 15% of the value measured with radiochromic film, in the posterior to anterior plane. In the lateral plane, Caregraph® uniformly underestimated the dose by an average of 67%. This means that with appropriate correction factors, Caregraph® could be used reliably as a real time indicator of PSD. iv Verification of Caregraph® Peak Skin Dose Data Using Radiochromic Film BY