Radiation protection for the parent and child in diagnostic nuclear medicine

Conclusions

The assessment of the radiation risks involved in the administration of radiopharmaceuticals to parents and children must be based wherever possible on direct measurements and realistic estimations of the doses involved. The data presented in some of the publications on which this editorial is based can be used to estimate the doses to members of the public and to hospital staff from a range of nuclear medicine procedures and under circumstances other than those discussed above. However, in the current climate of raised risks associated with radiation and an increasing public awareness, further dosimetric data are required to rectify the existing deficiencies and to keep pace with future expansion and developments in the application of nuclear medicine to the investigation of parents and children.

It is prudent to issue general recommendations based on worst case values of radiation doses, and these can be estimated more easily from separate observations of such factors as dose rate, distance and time, rather than from measurements of integral dose. Practitioners of nuclear medicine are in the best position to obtain the missing information highlighted above, particularly the biokinetic data. In some instances, acquisition of such information has revealed a lower risk than previously considered. It remains to be seen how the new annual limits and recommendations from the ICRP will be implemented by regulatory authorities. However, this information is essential to permit a realistic assessment of the impact of future changes in radiation protection legislation.