Optimization of the Radiological Protection in Diagnostic X-ray Examinations

This thesis deals with the topic of optimization of radiation protection of patients at a radiodiagnostic workplace. It discusses the possibilities of protecting patients from X-ray radiation in radiodiagnostics, both by technical parameters that can influence the dose and by the use of protective shielding, both in the primary radiation beam and outside it. In the practical part I focused on the calculation of diagnostic reference levels for selected examinations. Examination data was obtained from the DICOM header from the Dicompass viewer. For the calculation, I chose the chest examination in PA projection and the skull examination in AP projection lying on the examination table. Exposure parameters from three stationary scanners on which both selected examinations are currently routinely performed were analyzed. The observed values of input surface kerma and surface kerma for each scans were compared with the values of local diagnostic reference levels and with the values of national diagnostic reference levels. There are no national diagnostic reference levels for pediatric examinations, so I used the 2015 European Guidelines on DRLs for Pediatric Imaging document, which contains diagnostic reference levels for pediatric patients, to compare the values. The content of this paper can serve as a basic overview of optimizing radiation protection and calculating diagnostic reference levels for healthcare professionals and the general public