Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

X-Ray Shielding

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NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2020
 X-Ray Uses in Image Guided Surgery
• X-ray II is the standard detector for current projection radiography system

47
 X-Ray Uses for Radiation Therapy
• X-ray II is the standard detector for current projection radiography system

48
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

X-Ray Sources
Protective casing
leakage radiation

•Andrew Webb, Introduction to Biomedical Imaging, 2003, Wiley-

Interscience.

•Motor, Why?
•Filament
•Rotating
target
Primary radiation

•Electron beam? How are electrons generated?

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NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2020
Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

50
Chapter 9: Radiation Dosimetry

51
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Key Characteristics of X-ray Source Operation

F Requirements for structural shielding is determined by considering

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NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2020
 Typical X-ray Setup in Surgical Room
• X-ray II is the standard detector for current projection radiography system

53
 Chapter 9: Radiation Dosimetry

Considerations for X-ray Shielding Design

F ICRP 60 Limits for X-ray exposure:

F 100mSv (100,000rems) over 5 years
F Maximum dose in any single year <50mSv (50,000mrems)

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NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2020
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Typical X-ray Shielding Setup

F Primary (for x-ray beam passing through the patient) and secondary (for leakage
dose and scattered photons) shielding:

AOI

Area-of-interest (AOI),
Maximum permissible dose
rate: P (rem/week)

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NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2020
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Design of the Primary Protection Barrier

Consider a shielded source running with given (W, U, T) would deliver a dose rate (or
exposure) rate P at the AOI. If we move the shielding in front of the same source running
at 1 mA for 1 min, then the dose (or exposure) from this shielded source at a reference
distance of 1 m (Point Q) is

567 <! ⋅= 5>7⁄?@ <! ⋅= 567

𝐾(78⋅7:;) = A(78⋅7:;/?@)⋅E⋅F = A⋅E⋅F (78⋅7:;),

which is called normalized shielded output factor …

𝐷𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑄: 𝐷̇ ! = 𝑃 𝑟e 𝑚 ⁄𝜔 𝑘 ⋅ 𝑑 " ×
_

sources 𝐷𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑂𝐼:

𝐷̇ !"# = 𝑃 𝑟e 𝑚 ⁄𝜔 𝑘

AOI

Object Primary barrier

 Defining the Primary Barrier Consider that
ü The maximum allowed dose (or exposure)
rate at the AOI is P,
_

ü A shielded source is tuned to deliver a

weekly dose exactly equal to P, with a
given workload of W (mA×min/wk),
ü The AOI is occupied only for a fraction
(T) of time,
ü The source, when operating, has a use
factor of U (the fraction of time that the
Primary barrier source is pointing towards the AOI).

Consider a shielded source running with given (W, U, T) would deliver a dose rate (or
exposure) rate P at the AOI. If we move the shielding in front of the same source running
at 1 mA for 1 min, then the dose (or exposure) from this shielded source at a reference
distance of 1 m (Point Q) is
=
K = <!⋅A⋅F⋅E è normalized shielded source output factor

So how much shielding is needed for the source to deliver a dose (or
exposure) K at 1 m away?
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

If we consider X-ray sources of

different kVp values running with 1
unit workload of 1 mAŸmin/week,
these curve give the thicknesses of
shielding needed for the sources to
deliver an exposure of K (R) at 1m.

𝑑G 𝑃
𝐾= 58
𝑊𝑈𝑇
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Determining the Requirement for Primary Shielding

AOI

W=220mA×1.5min/wk

U=1/3
T=1/4

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NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2020
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Determine the Requirement for Primary Shielding

!
𝑑 𝑃
𝐾=
𝑊𝑈𝑇
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NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2020
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

If we consider X-ray sources of

different kVp values running with 1
unit workload of 1 mAŸmin/week,
these curve give the thicknesses of
shielding needed for the sources to
deliver an exposure of K (R) at 1m.

𝑑G 𝑃
𝐾= 61
𝑊𝑈𝑇
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Secondary Protection Barrier

F Used against the scattered photons and the leakage
Leakage radiation
radiation dose.
F Depends on
F Scattering angle – assumed to be isotropic.
Scattered radiation F The energy of the primary photons – a
simpler energy dependency is assumed to
simplify the derivation.
F Scattering area – assuming a perfect scattering
plane
F Type of the X-ray tube – in particular in the
calculation of the dose rate from leakage
radiation
F Required shielding need to be determined separately
for each of these components.
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Secondary Protection Barrier against Scattered Radiation

AOI
P

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 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Secondary Protection Barrier against Scattered Radiation

exposure (or dose) rate
reaching the object

𝑿̇ 𝒖 , 𝑫̇ 𝒖
_

Second barrier

Second barrier
Exposure (or dose)
𝑿̇ 𝒔 , 𝑫̇ 𝒔
rate reaching the AOI
AOI
AOI

𝑎×𝑋̇ I 𝐹
̇
𝑋H = ⋅
𝑑J6K G 400
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Secondary Protection Barrier against Scattered Radiation

F The effect of scattered radiation may be determined based on (a) primary beam
energy, (b) scattering angle and (c) scattering area.
F If the exposure rate incident on the object is Ẋ $ , then the exposure rate from
scattered radiation without shielding may be given by

𝑎×𝑋̇ I 𝐹
𝑋̇H = G
⋅
𝑑J6K 400

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NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2015
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Secondary Protection Barrier against Scattered Radiation

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NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2020
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Secondary Protection Barrier

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 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Secondary Protection Barrier against Scattered Radiation

If the shielded source (shown below) running with
given (U, W, T) would deliver a dose rate P at the AOI,
then the same shielded source running at 1 mA for min
should deliver a dose Dose rate at point Q:
5̇ % & '9*/;, ⋅.&'($ ⋅. $
&() 011 2*
$
𝐷̇ ! = 𝐷̇ " ⋅ 𝑑#$⋅&
'
𝐾= = × , '
𝑃 𝑟e 𝑚⁄𝜔 𝑘 ⋅ 𝑑#() '
400 𝑐𝑚'
6⋅7⋅8 /⋅6(*=⋅*>?/;,)⋅8 3 2* $ ⋅ 𝑑#$⋅&
×
to Point Q, which is the normalized shielded output = 𝑎 𝐹 𝑐𝑚'
factor …

_
Dose rate at point R:
& $
'(* ⁄+, ⋅.!"# 011 2* $
𝐷̇ % = × ,
/ 3 2* $

where F (cm) is the actual target

area of the object
Second barrier

Dose rate at the AOI:

𝐷̇ ! = 𝑃 𝑟e 𝑚 ⁄𝜔 𝑘
 Secondary Protection Barrier against Scattered Radiation
Consider that
ü The maximum allowed dose (or exposure) rate at the
AOI is P,
_

ü A shielded source is tuned to deliver a weekly dose

exactly equal to P, with a workload W (mA×min/wk),
Second
barrier ü The AOI is occupied only for a fraction, T, of time, and
ü Remember that

Consider a shielded source, running under given (W, T), would deliver a dose rate (or
exposure rate) P at the AOI. If we move the secondary barrier right in front of the same
source running at 1 mA for 1 min, the dose (or exposure) from the shielded source to the
reference point Q at 1 m away should be
& 011 (2* !)
K= 𝐷̇ ! 𝐷̇ A = 𝑃 = /⋅6⋅8 ⋅ "
𝑑A2/ ⋅ "
𝑑A92 ⋅
3(2* !)
.

K is the normalized shielded source output factor.

So how much shielding is needed for the source to deliver a dose (or
exposure) K at 1 m away?
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Secondary Protection Barrier against Scattered Radiation

Normalized shielded source output factor: the exposure rate that the shielded source should
deliver at 1 m away (within the primary beam) with a unit workload (1 mAŸmin/week)

Dist. from the source to Dist. from the scatterer

the scatterer to the AOI

Actual size of the

a: ratio between incident exposure scatterer/object
and scattered exposure measured at 1
m from the object, whose scattering
area is assumed to be 400 cm2
The occupancy of the AOI

Workload – the amount of usage of the x-

ray tube (mA×min/wk)
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Secondary Protection Barrier for Scattered Radiation

F The exposure rate that the same source would deliver at 1 m away (within the
primary beam) and with a unit workload (1 mAŸmin/week) is given by

Correction factor, whose value increases with

the increasing HV of the tube.
P

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NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2020
Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

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 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Secondary Protection Barrier for Leakage Radiation

F Considerations on the dose by leakage radiation
F For diagnostic x-ray tubes, the maximum leakage dose rate is 1 mSv (0.1
rem) per h at 1 m (quality standard for x-ray tube manufacturers).
F If the source is running for t mins per week, the maximum leakage dose
rate delivered to an area at a distance of d meter away is

ICRP dose limit imposed on all commercial X- Assuming working for t

ray generators (Rem/h at 1 m) mins per week, t=W/I

𝑟𝑒𝑚 𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑟𝑒𝑚 0.1 𝑡( )
Dose rate: Rem/wk 𝐷̇ B = ℎ × 𝑤𝑘
𝑤𝑘 𝑑" 𝑚𝑖𝑛
60( )
ℎ
Distance between AOI and the source
F Consider the occupancy factor (T) of the area-of-interest and the workload of the
x-ray source (W), the maximum dose rate delivered by the leakage radiation is
𝑟𝑒𝑚 𝑚𝐴 ⋅ 𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑟𝑒𝑚 0.1 𝑊( )⋅𝑇
𝐷̇ B = ℎ × 𝑤𝑘
𝑤𝑘 𝑑" 𝑚𝑖𝑛 I: Tube current (mA)
60( ) ⋅ 𝐼(𝑚𝐴) 73
ℎ
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Secondary Protection Barrier for Leakage Radiation

F If the maximum dose rate (P) allowed at a distance d (m) from the target, the
shielding factor, BLx, of the barrier for leakage radiation may be determined by

Dose limit at the AOI

𝑃 𝑃 ⋅ 𝑑# ⋅ 600 ⋅ 𝐼
𝐵!" = =
𝐷̇ ! W⋅𝑇

Dose at the AOI without shielding

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NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2020
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Design of An X-ray Shielding Structure

workload

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NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2020
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Design of An X-ray Shielding Structure

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NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2020
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Design of An X-ray Shielding Structure

Step 1: Design of the primary barrier
Considering
• Directly irradiating Wall A at a distance d,
• Workload: W=2 (mins/week) ×200 (mA),
• Use factor: U=1,
• Occupancy factor: T=1/4,
• Maximum allowed weekly dose to an uncontrolled area: 0.02 mSv,
The maximum dose that is allowed at a unit distance delivered by the
shielded source running at the standard operating condition
(mA·1min, U=1, T=1) is given by

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 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Design of An X-ray Shielding Structure

Step 1: Design of the primary barrier (continued)

The maximum exposure that is allowed at a unit distance and delivered by the
source running at the “standard” operating condition (W=1, U=1, T=1)
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Design of An X-ray Shielding Structure

Step 2: Design of the second barrier (ceiling) against leakage radiation

Considering
• The source is installed 1.5 m from the ceiling,
• The AOI is 3 feet above the ceiling, and about 8 feet from the source, d=8
feet=2.5m.
• The maximum dose allowed for an uncontrolled area is P=0.002 Rem/week
(0.02 mSv/week)
• The source is generating 0.1 Rem/h (1 mSv/h) dose at 1 m through leakage
radiation by running for 60 mins per week (the ICRP limit on commercial
diagnostic X-ray source).
• For diagnosis purpose, this source is typically running for 302 mins per week.
Then the attenuation factor required to bring the radiation dose at the AOI to below
the 0.02 mSv/week dose limit is given by

It would take a concrete shielding of (n × half-value layer) to achieve the desired shielding effect, where n is given by

Finally, considering the half-value layer for concrete for X-rays from the 125 kVp source is 2 cm, then the total thickness of concrete to
protect the AOI from leakage radiation is about 10 cm.
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Design of An X-ray Shielding Structure

Step 3: Design of the second barrier (ceiling) against scattered radiation
Considering
• Workload: W=2 (mins/week) ×200 (mA)=1200 (mA ×min/week),
• Use factor: U=1,
• Occupancy factor: T=1,
• dsca=0.5 m,
• dsec=2.5 m,
• a=0.0015 from the table
• Target area of the patient to the incident X-rays, F=400 cm2,
• Maximum allowed weekly dose to an uncontrolled area: P=0.02 mSv/wk,

The maximum dose that is allowed at a unit distance delivered by the source
running at the standard operating condition (W=1, U=1, T=1) is given by
 Chapter 9: External Radiation Protection

Design of An X-ray Shielding Structure

Step 3: Design of the second barrier (ceiling) against scattered radiation

The maximum dose that is allowed at a unit distance delivered by the source running at
the standard operating condition (W=1, U=1, T=1) is given by