Assessment of integrity and lead-equivalence of shielded garments using two-dimensional x-ray images from a computed tomography scanner

Shielded garments are widely recommended for occupational radiation protection in diagnostic and interventional radiology. This study investigated a novel method for efficiently verifying shielded garment integrity while simultaneously acquiring data for lead-equivalence measurements, using 2D topogram images from computed tomography (CT) scanners. This method was tested more-conventional measurements with superficial and orthovoltage radiotherapy treatment beams, for twelve shielded garments containing three different lead-free shielding materials. Despite some energy-dependent results, all shielded garments approximately achieved their specified lead-equivalence for the energy range expected during clinical use for fluoroscopy procedures, except for three shielded skirts that required two layers of material to be overlapped at the front. All lead-equivalence measurements from CT topograms agreed with or conservatively under-estimated the kV narrow-beam results. This method is potentially useful for independently assessing the shielding properties of new shielded garments and performing annual checks for damage or degradation of existing shielded garments.