Abstract
1010
Objectives The purpose of this experiment was to: 1) determine the radiation exposure rate from different areas of the SMART-FILL® Dispensing System, 2) evaluate the radiation exposure to the operator of the SMART-FILL® Dispensing System when preparing I-131 capsules using HICON® Solution and 3) compare results obtained with the dispensing system to those received when preparing capsules manually.
Methods Three (3) capsules with different activity levels were prepared from a high activity I-131 solution using the SMART-FILL® Dispensing System. The radiation exposure rate at various locations around the Dispensing System was measured. To obtain an accurate description of the total radiation exposure to the operator during the filling procedure, these measurements were repeated at multiple time intervals during the capsule preparation procedure.
Results Three (3) capsules were prepared using the SMART-FILL® Dispensing System ranging from 46-227 mCi each. During these procedures, radiation exposure rate measurements were taken at various locations around the system. Three (3) discrete procedural steps were considered: 1) after withdrawing the dose of I-131 from the stock vial, 2) before dispensing the I-131 solution into the capsule and 3) once the total volume had been dispensed into the capsule. The results from these measurements for one capsule (i.e.150 mCi) are presented in Table 1. The total procedural radiation exposure to the operator of the SMART-FILL® Dispensing System was determined by considering individual task time estimates in conjunction with the exposure rates measured based on the requirements of the operator for each task needed to be accomplished, the corresponding exposure (i.e. dose) for the extremities was calculated. These results were subsequently compared to an analogous method whereby capsules are prepared manually. The estimated exposure rates for the preparation of a 150 mCi capsule are compared in Table 2. The values obtained using the SMART-FILL® Dispensing System were compared with a manual capsule preparation process. Here the calculated extremity dose was estimated to be on the order of 3 mSv for the preparation of a 150 mCi capsule. This represents a reduction of several orders of magnitude of exposure to the user.
Conclusions It was demonstrated that the radiation exposure rate surrounding the SMART-FILL® Dispensing System during the capsule filling procedure is at a reasonable level. One of the more significant exposure reductions achieved by the SMART-FILL® Dispensing System is the reduction in extremity exposure Compared to manual methods of capsule preparation. Through the use of remote manipulators the expected extremity exposure is reduced to approximately 2 µSv for a 150 mCi capsule prepared from a I-131 bulk solution. The effective whole body and eye exposures were also reduced to approximately 2 µSv for the capsule filling procedure which represents a 1000-fold reduction compared to the conventional method of capsule preparation.
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