Abstract

The recent increase in the applications of Computed Tomography (CT) for routing organ imaging purposes has potential health implications of exposure to ionizing radiation. The present work assessed the dose level patients are likely to be exposed during brain CT examinations using the direct method. Thermo-luminescent dosimeter (TLD) UK-based chips were employed at the front and back of the heads of patients under examination. A total number of Twenty-four (24) patients drawn from all genders and ages, ranging from 1 year to 70 years, participated in the brain computed tomography examinations. The background radiation was taken into account during the computation of the effective dose. The effective dose highest value was 0.22mSv while the minimum value was 0.01mSv. The mean effective dose (HETLD) was calculated as 0.1mSv. The study found that the radiation doses to the brain in this hospital and for the analyzed data are minimum relative to other studies in the literature and within the limit of no concern (absorb dose of 0.5Gy) set by the International Commission for Radiation Protection (ICRP). Periodic measurements are however necessary for ensuring optimal use of radiation on patients.

Key words: X-ray radiation, Effective dose, Computed tomography, Radiation dose, Thermo luminescent dosimeter (TLD)