Estimation of the effective dose when protective aprons are used in medical procedures: a theoretical evaluation of several methods.

The use of the personal dose equivalent Hp(10), as measured by one or more dosimeters, in estimating the effective dose equivalent H(E) and the effective dose E was examined for situations in which a protective apron is worn by the monitored person during medical procedures. The photon energy range considered was between 0.03-1.0 MeV. Several methods recommended in the technical literature for this purpose were assessed and their ability to provide reasonable estimates for H(E) and E were compared. The assessments were theoretical and used Monte Carlo transport methods and an anthropomorphic phantom to calculate H(E), E, and Hp(10). The results showed that all of the recommended methods, using either one or more dosimeters, were applicable to this situation but that most gave good results only within limited photon energy ranges, outside of which they either considerably over-or under-estimated the doses. Some provided good estimates over the entire energy range considered.