[en] Positron emission tomography (PET) is one of the most relevant diagnostic imaging techniques having the peculiar characteristic to provide functional and quantitative information of some diseases. Its development needs the installation of production centres with cyclotrons constructed under the strict regulation applied to pharmaceutical laboratories and radioactive facilities. Average annual doses of nuclear medicine workers are noticeably higher than those of other exposed workers in medicine. The aim of this paper is to show some key aspects in the radiation protection of PET facilities. the paper deals with aspects of PET facilities design, radiation protection mechanisms, suitable working procedures, impact of new technologies for PET cameras, etc. (Author) 15 refs

[en] It is presented the effect of the reactive and non-reactive sputtering preparation, as well as, the atomic composition on the electrical properties and conduction mechanisms. Depending on the preparation conditions, samples present ohmic, Poole-Frenkel and space charge limited current conduction behaviours, as well as several orders of magnitude in resistivity values. As it is reported, impurities and non-stoichiometry play a very important role in the conduction mechanism and therefore on the thin film resistivity

[en] Our hospital is developing a nuclear medicine quality assurance program in order to comply with medical exposure Directive 97/43 EURATOM and the legal requirements established in our legislation. This program includes the quality control of equipment and, in addition, the dose estimation in patients undergoing nuclear medicine examinations. This paper is focused in the second aspect, and presents a new computer program, developed in our Department, in order to estimate the absorbed dose in different organs and the effective dose to the patients, based upon the data from the ICRP publication 53 and its addendum. (Author) 16 refs

[en] One of the existing needs in nuclear decommissioning projects is to provide an inventory of components to be dismantled, which is available from its spatial location and elements that exist in your environment. The Laser scanner technology is a system of data acquisition that allows 3D models composed of millions of points, it's models with pinpoint accuracy and are available in a very short space of time. (Author)

[en] The sewage Sludge directive 86/278/EEc seeks to encourage the disposal of sewage sludge in agriculture applications and regulate its use to prevent harmful effects on the soil environment. currently, the sewage sludge Directive is under revision and a possible cut-off limit for some organic chemicals (including linear alkylbenzene sulphonates. LAS, the main synthetic anionic surfactant) is to be implemented. This legal limit is based on monitoring studies carried out in Scandinavian countries, being strongly rejected by most EU countries since the Nordic situations was regarded as not representative. (Author)

[en] Ionizing radiation is nowadays widely used for both diagnosis and therapy mainly in nuclear medicine, diagnostic radiology and radiation oncology specialities. Benchmark techniques and advanced equipment like multislice CT in diagnostic radiology, PET-CT in nuclear medicine or IMRT or IGRT in radiotherapy are currently becoming regular in daily practice at hospitals. Medical exposures are by far the largest artificial source of public exposure to ionizing radiation. although concentrated in a relatively small percentage of the worlds population, these medical exposures continue to grow in a significant way, especially in developed countries. This fact makes it necessary to keep on working in radiological protection and safety at medical facilities. (Author) 11 refs.

[en] The aim of this work has been to determine typical and potential occupational dose levels intracoronary brachytherapy procedures using beta sources. There is no significant increase in staff doses arising from the beta sources used in normal conditions but it has been noticed an increase in the patient doses per procedure compared to PTCA which may lead to an increment in staff doses. The main reason of these dose increase is the increment in the duration of the full procedure and the need for recording and reporting every step of the treatment as well as essential parameters for volume determination and dose calculation. (Author)

[en] The X-ray damage in oxidized LiTaO₃ samples has been studied by electron paramagnetic resonance of X-irradiated LiTaO₃ at liquid nitrogen temperature and thermal quenching of the intensity of the EPR signal centered at 3100 G. The EPR data could be explained in terms of electron-hole pair formation. These charges can be trapped in the lattice; the electrons become polarons and the holes will stay in lithium vacancies

[en] Radiological Protection (RP) in a health care setting is an activity intended to protect the professionals involved in Radiodiagnostic, Nuclear Medicine or Radiotherapeutic Oncology procedures, and also the population, against the risks resulting from the use of ionizing radiation because of the impact it could have on them, In our country, application of new regulations to these practices has not involved structural changes in the facilities. Both the technological innovations and the use of new techniques in these types of procedures create a need to reassess the associated risks and to establish specific training programs for these professionals. In our country, great efforts have been made to draw up and enact regulations that assure the quality of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures using ionizing radiation, including their justification. (Author)

[en] The present work describes an online patient dosimetry and an image quality audit system in digital radiology. the system allows auditing of different parameters depending on contents of DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine) header. For the patient dosimetry audit, current mean values of entrance surface dose (ESD) were compared with local and national reference values (RVs) for the specific examination type evaluated. Mean values exceeding the RV trigger an alarm signal and then an evaluation of the technical parameters, operational practice and image quality starts, using data available in the DICOM header to derive any abnormal settings or performance to obtain the image. the X-ray tube output for different kVp values is measured periodically, allowing for the automatic calculation of the ESD. The system also allows for image quality audit linking it with the dose imparted and other technical parameters if the alarm condition if produced. Results and advantages derived from this online quality control are discussed. (Author) 5 refs