Passive Monitoring Service
Medical personnel may be exposed to ionizing radiation emitted from medical diagnostic and therapeutic equipment or isotopes used in nuclear medicine. To protect their health, medical staff must be monitored with dosemeters in accordance with national legislative requirements.
Dosilab has developed the dosiCHECK optimized passive monitoring service to assist you in complying with legal regulations for protecting medical personnel:
- Dosilab provides dosemeter holders, dosiBADGE, to correctly and comfortably wear the required dosemeter
- Dosemeters, sorted by department, are shipped in reusable blueBOXs used also for their return. Various shipment consolidation options are available
- Fast and accurate processing of the returned badges including timely issuance of dose reports
- dosiWEB, our web platform, lets you manage all your dosimetry needs. Nonetheless paper forms are still available to submit any service change request
- Phone hotline available to answer any technical or administrative questions.
dosiCHECK – optimized monitoring service cycle
Dosilab has optimized the dosemeter wear cycle and the delivery of dose reports to reduce the administrative burden on our clients while maintaining high quality and fast, responsive service.
The recurring dosemeter issuance, return, and analysis cycle requires minimal effort from the client: they simply need to exchange worn dosemeters for new ones and return the worn ones to us for processing. The same shipping box used to receive new dosemeters can be used to return worn ones. Changes to dosemeter issuance due to personnel changes can be submitted online through our dosiWEB platform or via forms.
Optimizing our monitoring service provides the following benefits:
- Optimized timing of shipping allows for last minute wearer modifications to be taken into account
- A prepaid return label is enclosed with every blueBOX shipment for easy return of worn dosemeters
- Access to advanced evaluation statistics and reporting via dosiWEB
- In the event of an increased dose measurement, we immediately inform the client and, where applicable, the relevant authorities
- Reminders are issued for non-returned dosemeters to enforce consistent dose assessment and facilitate traceability before dosemeters are considered lost
- Emergency measurements: we offer an express dosemeter pick-up service and immediate processing in the event of a suspected high dose exposure.
dosiBADGE: the whole body dosimeter
Medical personnel potentially exposed to ionizing radiation must wear at least one whole body dosemeter whenever they access a radiation controlled area.
The dosemeter for each wear period is personalized and non-transferable. To help avoid mix-ups, Dosilab prints the identification information of the wearer clearly on the assigned dosemeter :
- First- und Surname
- Enterprise or department
- Wear period
- Wear periods are colour coded to help avoid mix ups of wearing periods
Furthermore, traceability and measurement quality are ensured by continuous testing throughout the entire wear cycle.
Given the complex work environment of medical workers, a single support type for a whole body dosemeter may not be sufficient. With the help of our clients, Dosilab has developed a range of dosemeter wear-systems to address this need.
- Holder in five different colours: yellow, blue, red, green and transparent to easily differentiate between departments, services or functions within an enterprise.
- Combined ID-badge and dosemeter holder: One combined holder replaces several individual badges
- The holder and badge can be worn using a clip or lanyard. While clients often prefer the clip, a lanyard may be a better choice in surgery areas where clothing is frequently changed. The metal-free lanyard is well-suited for X-ray and MRI environments.
dosiEYE: Eye lens dosimetry
In 2018, the FOPH (Federal Office of Public Health, BAG) decided to lower the annual eye lens dose limit to 20mSv, following EURATOM and ICRP guidelines.
Dosilab developed the dosiEYE single element dosemeter to help our clients comply with the new regulations and ensure the safety of medical staff. The dosiEYE dosemeter can be easily attached to existing safety glasses using an adapter with a bayonet catch (and corresponding key). In addition, we worked with Mavig GmbH to develop specialized safety glasses with an integrated dosemeter holder, called dosiGLASSES.
The dosiEYE can be worn as a clip (called dosiCLIP) and is suitable for not only eye lens dosimetry, but also for wear under or above a lead apron or workplace studies.
dosiEYE functions :
- Cold sterilization possible: The dosemeter is sealed via ultrasound and is therefore 100% waterproof, allowing for cold sterilisation by immersion in disinfectant
- Visual identification: The identification label is sealed in with the dosemeter for easy identification of the wearer and wear period. The whole body dosemeter and dosiEYE wearing period colour code are identical
- The element measurement of 3mm allows for effective Hp(3) measurements.
dosiEYE wear options :
- As dosiCLIP for workplace and over/under lead apron studies
- As adapter, attached to existing personal safety glasses. The dosemeter element can be easily detached from the adapter by help of the yellow key at the end of a wear period
- As dosiGLASSES, personalized safety glasses:
o Lead lenses and side shields with 0.5mm lead equivalent
o Lenses with single correction available
o Mount for dosiEYE may be attached on either side of the glasses
o Adjustable lenses for optimal fit
o Wide side shields for mayimum protection
o The glasses can be purchased through : https://mavig.de/strahlenschutz/augenschutz/br330/
dosiRING: the extremity dosimeter
Monitoring radiation exposure to extremities, particularly fingers, is important for interventional radiologists and other medical staff who may expose their fingers to radiation during medical procedures. X-ray imaging and nuclear medicine procedures can result in high doses to extremities, often close to legal limits.
Extremity monitoring, in addition to whole body dosimetry, is recommended by the ICRP and legally required in many countries such as Switzerland. In recent years, surgeons and interventional radiologists have begun routinely wearing our small, non-intrusive extremity dosemeters to assess their finger dose. International studies, such as ORAMED, have shown that ring dosemeters are more effective at assessing extremity dose compared to wrist dosemeters. While we still offer wrist dosemeters, we recommend the use of ring dosemeters.
Our dosemeter ring was designed for maximal comfort:
small and comfortable:
- Small and adjustable:
o 2 shapes available: classic and spiral
o The flexible arms of the ring are adjustable to any finger size - Waterproof:
o Ultrasound welding technology ensures 100% waterproof sealing of the element. This allows the ring to be decontaminated biologically or cold sterilized by immersion in liquid decontaminants. - Label identification
o The wearer’s name and wear period are printed on the inside of the ring for easy identification, following the same logic as whole body dosemeter identification
o Identical colour coding method for wearing periods as for whole body dosemeter - Thin cap to minimize beta filtration
o the cap has a minimal thickness enabling accurate beta measurements while still being sufficiently robust to resist harsh environments.
dosiWEB: the WEB service platform
Managing your dosimetry needs can be time-consuming. dosiWEB allows online access to all relevant dosimetry data for your organization at any time, reducing administrative workload.
With dosiWEB, you have full flexibility on when you register changes. For Swiss clients, changes entered by the 15th of the month before the new wear period will be taken into account for the next wear period.
dosiWEB functions :
- View the list of monitored persons by department
- View and/or download dose records by person or department. Dose records are accessible on-line within 3-5 days from receipt of returned dosemeters
- Add new persons and their dosemeter requirements
- Cancel dosemeter issuance for a wearer or interrupt issuance for a certain time period (maternity leave, sabbatical,…)
- Transfer person from one department to another with a simple click
- View status of returned dosemeters. The list of non-returned dosemeters can be downloaded
- Manage and view dose measurements of your transport and ambiance dosemeters (same as for persons)
There is no need to install dedicated software on your computer – dosiWEB only requires internet access.
dosiWEB uses secure access via the standard internet https protocol. Each client receives individualized access codes for designated personnel, typically radioprotection officers or health physicists.
dosiBOARD: safekeeping the dosimeters during the wear cycle
Centralizing dosemeters when not in use during a wear period has shown to be a good practice to minimize losses and streamline the exchange process at the end of a wear period. It is also a good radioprotection practice, as it ensures all dosemeters in an organization are exposed to the same background radiation, avoiding possible small dose inconsistencies among wearers. In certain countries, keeping dosemeters together is also a legal requirement.
dosiBOARD III
Features dosiBOARD-III:
- Storage for up to 10 dosemeters per panel
- Modular layout options 40 cm x 11 cm x 3.5 cm
- Separate mount for exchangeable dosemeters at the end of a wear period
- Separate mount for eye and ring dosemeters
- Detachable mounts allow for proper cleaning (OR / nuclear medicine)
dosiBOARD-II
Features dosiBOARD-II:
- Storage for up to 15 Dosemeters per panel
- Modular layout options 42 cm x 39 cm
- Separate mount for exchangeable dosemeters at the end of a wear period
- Suspension device for dosemeters on lanyards
DosiBOARD – Ring
Storage board with small containers for ring and eye lens dosemeters.
Features:
- Storage of up to 10 dosemeter per
- Dimensions: 42 cm x 5 cm
- Storage containers may be personalized
TLD Technology and Dose reassessing capabilities
Thermoluminescent dosimetry (TLD) is a well-established technique that measures radiation exposure by detecting the light emission (luminescence) that results from the interaction of radiation with a special dosemeter material. The process works by trapping electrons in the crystal’s atoms at higher energy states due to impurities introduced into the crystal. When the crystal is heated, the trapped electrons return to their ground state and release photons with an energy equal to the difference between the trap state and the ground state. The emitted light is proportional to the radiation exposure, allowing for accurate measurement of the dose. The technique is called TLD because it involves both excitation by thermal heating and measurement of the luminescence signal.
The TLD dosemeters we use contain two calcium sulphate and two lithium borate elements. To read the dose, the dosemeter is heated to 370°C using several flashes of infrared light. This causes the dosemeter to emit ultraviolet light, the intensity of which is measured by light-sensitive detectors. The emitted light is proportional to the gamma, X-ray, or beta radiation the wearer was exposed to during the wearing period.
The measurement is done using a TLD reader, which counts the photons emitted during the heating cycle and stores the measurement data. This data is then processed using an algorithm that determines the dose of the exposure based on the readings of each TLD element. The raw measured data (the glow curves) is stored in the database for further analysis if needed.
After the measurement is complete, the dosemeter can be reused because the trapped electrons have returned to the ground state and are ready to interact with radiation again.