Introduction: Mammography is an X-ray breast imaging for early detection of cancer and other pathological changes in breast tissue. By applying this diagnostic tests, it is necessary to take into account the principle of ALARA (As low as reasonably achievable), which means that it is carried out at the lowest possible radiation exposure of the glandular tissue of the breast and surrounding critical organs. One of these is the thyroid gland, which is located on the front of the lower part of the neck and is very sensitive to ionizing radiation, especially with exposure at a young age. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to determine what dose is received by the thyroid gland in mammography and how much it is reduced with the use of a thyroid gland protection. Methods: Measurements were performed on two mammographic devices. To simulate the torso of the participant, we used a phantom body, labelled PBU 60. Breasts were simulated with plexiglass in three different thicknesses (2-, 4.5-, 7 cm) and photographed in the basic rectangular (CC) projection with automatic selection of the aspect conditions. 20 measurements were carried out on each of the devices for every thickness, 10 of those with protection and 10 without it, for a total of 60 measurements on a single device. The dose to the thyroid was measured with the Unfors EDD-30 dosimeter and the data was collected with real-time writing. Data expressed in micro gray units (µGy), which represents the absorbed dose. Measurements were multiplied with the tissue weighting factor and we obtained an effective dose, measured in sieverts (Sv). Results: On device 1 the levels were on average lower than on device 2. With the 2 cm thickness, the thyroid gland received a minimum dose. On device 1, for imaging without protection, it amounted to 0,188 µSv and 0,274 µSv on device 2. When using protection it decreased by 91 to 95%. In the case of imaging with a 7 cm thickness, without the use of protection, the thyroid gland received the highest dose (3,878 µSv on device 1 and 4,764 µSv on device 2). By using protection, however, this decreased by 98 %. With the 4,5 cm thickness the dose was also reduced with the use protection, by 96 %. Discussion and conclusion: The hypotheses that we set at the beginning of writing, can be confirmed on the basis of the obtained results, as the dose increased by increasing the thickness of the plexiglass. By using protection, the dose was reduced.
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