[Measurement of effective energy and entrance surface dose using fluorescent glass dosimeter in interventional radiology procedures: make of half-value layer measurement instrument and IVR-phantom].

In interventional radiology (IVR) procedures, automatic brightness control (ABC) is helpful in maintaining good image quality by adjusting kV and/or mA based on the subject’s thickness. However, it was difficult to measure effective energy using half-value layer (HVL). We investigated the usefulness of measuring effective energy and entrance surface dose using a fluorescent glass dosimeter in IVR procedures, and we made an HVL folder and IVR-phantom for that purpose. Effective energy measured using the HVL folder correlated well with reference ionization dosimeter (y=0.992x, r=0.963). The result indicated that the present method using an HVL folder and IVR-phantom provides accurate measurements of effective energy and entrance surface dose in IVR procedures. In conclusion, the present measurement method may be useful for quality control of IVR equipment. In addition, the development of this measurement technique may be useful for comparisons of exposure levels in different hospitals.