Innovative Use of PCXMC in Dose Distribution Estimation for Occupationally Exposed Individuals

• Grant number: 25/11167-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: October 01, 2025
• End date: September 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Medical Radiology
• Principal Investigator: Diana Rodrigues de Pina Miranda
• Grantee: Diana Rodrigues de Pina Miranda
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FMB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: Botucatu
• Associated research grant: 23/01156-6 - Establishment and validation of Local Diagnostic Reference Levels (LDRLs) and determination of effective dose in hemodynamic procedures, AP.R
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/21657-5 - Innovative Use of PCXMC in Dose Distribution Estimation for Occupationally Exposed Individuals, BP.IC

Abstract

Scattered radiation exposure during interventional radiology procedures is one of the main sources of occupational risk for healthcare professionals, resulting in significant cumulative doses over time (1,2). Conventional monitoring methods, such as thermoluminescent dosimeters, provide only point estimates and do not account for dose distribution among organs or the simulation of different clinical conditions (3,4). This project proposes the innovative use of the PCXMC software, adapting a tool originally designed for patient dose estimation to simulate the exposure of Occupationally Exposed Individuals (OEIs) to scattered radiation during interventional procedures, using real clinical data. This strategy ensures reproducibility, methodological robustness, and high applicability for occupational exposure assessment. The software's anthropomorphic model will be adjusted to represent the typical positioning of professionals in the procedure room, allowing for the estimation of effective dose and organ-specific absorbed doses, in scenarios with and without protective shielding. Retrospective data from procedures performed at a large hospital will be used, including variables such as tube voltage (kVp), fluoroscopy time, kerma-area product (PKA), and source-to-skin distance, which will serve as the basis for the simulation scenarios. The simulations, carried out using the Monte Carlo method embedded in the software, will allow the evaluation of dose distribution and the effectiveness of radiation protection strategies, contributing to the enhancement of occupational safety in interventional settings. (AU)