Discovery of X-rays in 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen opened new horizons in medical sciences. However, the challenging nature of ionizing radiation has highlighted the importance of protective measures. The highly penetrating nature of X-rays and differences in the sensitivity of body tissues to this type of radiation are responsible for the biological effects in humans. To limit the harmful tissue reactions and the stochastic effects of X-rays, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) has recommended two principles of justification and optimization (1) . Since radiological imaging has become one of the main diagnostic methods to determine the cause of diseases, some concerns have been raised regarding full adherence to protective and patient dose principles (2) . Accordingly, the ICRP
Background and Aims: Trauma patients often suffer from multiple injuries and require undergoing various radiography which is referred to as multifield radiographic examinations. Protective measures may be ignored for these examinations due to stressful emergency situations or patients' conditions. This study was conducted to evaluate the scattered doses received by the pelvis during different common multifield radiographic examinations with an emphasis on field size adjustment.Methods: A whole-body phantom, PBU-50, resembling the body mass, was used to carry out the common examinations for trauma patients (extremities, skull, chest, abdomen, pelvis, femur, and lumbar radiography), using a Pars Pad X-ray machine. To measure the primary entrance skin doses, three calibrated GR 200 thermoluminescence dosimeter (TLD) chips were placed in the central X-ray beam of scanned organs. Three TLDs were also placed on the pelvis symphysis pubis to measure the scattered dose received by the pelvis due to each carried-out radiography for standard and clinically used field sizes. A Harshaw 3500 TLD Reader was used to read the chips. TLD readouts (nano-Coulomb) were converted to dose (milli Gray [mGy]) using the predefined calibration curve.
Results:The scattered doses to the pelvis due to scanning a single organ differed from 0.80 to 1.70, and 0.82 to 4.09 mGy for standard and clinically used field sizes, respectively. The scattered doses to the pelvis in multifield examinations varied from 0.80 to 8.43 and 0.82 to 13.6 mGy for standard and clinically used field sizes, respectively, depending on the number of scanned organs and their distances from the pelvis. Conclusions: Multiple and repeated radiographs combined with insufficient protective measures can increase the patient's dose. The findings indicate that the scattered doses received by the pelvis can exceed the reference values in multifield Health Sci. Rep.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.