A set of patient and staff dose data for validation of Monte Carlo calculations in interventional cardiology.

The purpose of this paper is to report a set of experimental values of patient and staff doses in a cardiac catheterisation laboratory using the range of radiographic and geometric parameters from routine clinical practice. The data obtained will be available for validation of Monte Carlo calculations and for training purposes. They will also help optimise radiation protection for patients and staff. Experimental measurements were made with an anthropomorphic phantom, and a monoplane flat detector-based X-ray system was used for interventional cardiology procedures. Standard operational protocols used in clinical practice were applied. Around 1000 patient dose and 5000 staff dose values were measured for different operational conditions (angulations, distances, collimation and wedge filter, magnification, phantom thicknesses, using Copper absorber, etc.). Uncertainties were also estimated. Increase factors of 3-10 for patients and staff doses were measured for the different C-arm angulations.