Objective: The aim of the work was to estimate the radiation exposure of patients in waiting room during nuclear cardiac
perfusion and bone scans.
Method: Radalert 100x™ survey meter was used for measuring the dose rate of all groups. {GP1 (n=300, cardiac scan) and GP2 (n=300, bone scan)} during the waiting time in the waiting room before scan process. The collected dose rate from all patients was measured at 6 different positions (A, B, C, D, E and F) in the waiting room. ALoka digital dosimeter was used for personal an effective dose calculation of patients of GP1 and GP2. Results: The average effective doses of patients at positions (Cardiac: A:401.2.1 ±30.1 μSv and B:432.5 ±22.6 μSv) and (Bone, A:950.3±45.1 μSv and B:905±18.5 μSv) were highly significant (P<0.000) against other positions (Cardiac, C: 349.7 ±19.2 μSv, D:340.6±39.0 μSv, E:360.4±15.8 μSv and F:320.7±25.6 μSv) and (Bone, C: 688±33.5 μSv, D:704.2±27.3 μSv, E:711±55.7 μSv and F:668.4±50.6 μSv). The measured effective doses were correlated with the accumulated effective dose (measured by ALoka dosimeter) that showed a positive correlation (r =0.91, 0.95) for Gp1 and Gp2 respectively).
Conclusion: The design of the waiting room and the position of patients are highly affecting on the accumulated patient's effective dose. The size of the waiting room must be carefully considered in the facility design.