An active pixel sensor based system for real time dosimeter in interventional radiology

Interventional radiologists and staff members, during all their professional activities, are frequently exposed to protracted and fractionated low doses of ionizing radiation. Due to of skin tissues and peripheral blood irradiation, these exposures can result in deterministic effects (radiodermatitis, aged skin, hands depilation) or stochastic ones (skin and non-solid cancers incidence). The authors present a novel approach to perform on line monitoring of the staff during their interventions by using a device based on an Active Pixel Sensor. A good linearity with passive dosimeters (TLD) dose measurements has been demonstrated and the response difference between pulsed and continuous operational modes is reduced to less than 10%, marking a distinct improvement with respect to commercial active pixel dosimeters (APDs).