Patient dosimetry in interventional radiology using slow films

A method for the evaluation of patient doses in interventional radiology procedures is presented and discussed. The method requires the analysis of slow non-screen films such as those used in radiotherapy. Dose-area product and patient skin dose can be estimated with fair accuracy depending on the interventional procedure type. The agreement between the slow film method and diamentor measurement is better than 5% after the application of appropriate corrections. The cost is reasonable (pound 5 per film) making it a worthwhile option in patient dosimetry, especially when the X-ray equipment does not include any fixed dose-area measuring device. Additional valuable information which may be applied to optimization of procedures (e.g. irradiated areas, number and types of projections, check of appropriate use of beam limiting devices) is achieved by examining the different irradiation fields on the film.