Efficiency of Thermoluminescents Dosimeters for Patient Dose Assessment in Medical Radiology in Antananarivo

In radiation protection of patients and medical exposure control, the Radcal 3036 dosimeter is the standard device used for radiodiagnostic dosimetry in medical field. However, for various reasons, this device is not always available, resulting in service interruptions. This led us to assess the effectiveness of ThermoLuminescent Dosimeters (TLDs) for the same service. This study consists in setting an appropriate protocol, then comparing the surface doses measured by the dosimeter Radcal 3036 and those measured with TLDs. We selected three radiological departments in Antananarivo. For the four standard examinations selected (thorax, skull, abdomen and pelvis), the results show that the differences between the values measured by the two dosimeters remain below to 5%. These results confirm that TLDs offer a credible alternative for measuring the dose received by the patient during medical radiological examination. Dosimetric monitoring breakup can then be avoided, to the benefit of the safety of the public and patients.