Measurement of scattered and transmitted x-rays from intra-oral and panoramic dental x-ray equipment

The aim of this study was to quantify the levels of transmitted radiation arising from the use of
intra-oral dental x-ray equipment and scattered radiation arising from the use of both intra-oral
and panoramic x-ray equipment. Levels of scattered radiation were measured at 1 m from a phantom,
using an ion chamber with a volume of 1800 cm 3 . Transmitted radiation was measured using both (i)
a phantom and dose –area product (DAP) meter and (ii) a patient and a 1800 cm 3 ion chamber. For
intra-oral radiography the patient study gave a maximum transmission of 1.80% (range 0.04 –1.80%,
mean 0.26%) and the phantom study gave a maximum transmission of 6% (range 2 –6%, mean 5%). The
maximum scattered radiation, per unit DAP, was 5.5 nGy (mGy cm 2 ) −1 at 70 kVp and a distance of 1
m. For panoramic radiography the maximum scattered radiation was 9.3 nGy (mGy cm 2 ) −1 at 80 kVp
and a distance of 1 m. Dose values are presented to enab...

Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - May 9, 2018 Category: Physics Authors: John Holroyd Source Type: research