Abstract
Evaluation of radiation dose from medical exposure is important because the use of ionizing radiation in medical field contributes significantly to the exposure of the population. In plain radiography, the entrance skin dose, which is absorbed by the skin as it reaches the patient, is generally estimated. It is calculated from the air kerma at the same focus skin distance on the beam central axis measured with a dosimeter. In fluoroscopy, the indirect monitoring using dose-area product meter is generally performed for estimating the entrance skin dose in real-time to avoid skin injuries. In mammography, the average glandular dose is estimated because mammary glands have more sensitive to radiation than skin. The European Organization for Quality-Assured Breast Screening and Diagnostic Services protocol has been used to estimate average glandular dose from full-field digital mammography in Japan. Although volume CT dose index or dose-length product, as seen on CT consoles, do not represent the actual dose for the patient, they are measured to assist in quality control and optimization as well as the air kerma rate at the patient entrance reference point in fluoroscopy and the average glandular dose in mammography. For the purpose of patient dose evaluation, physical dose measurements using an anthropomorphic phantom and Monte Carlo simulations can estimate patient organ doses from medical exposure.
