Review of dosimetry instrumentation in digital and interventional radiology

Some dosimetry instruments and products are reviewed, the main emphasis being on patient dosimetry. recommendations for accuracy in different measurement applications and the results of some intercomparisons. It seems to be a common problem that the users of the general purpose air kerma (K-a) meters, dose-area product (DAP) meters or products such as thermoluminescence (TL) dosemeters are not always able to select the correct ionisation chamber, the calibration factor of a DAP meter or the TL dosemeter material and type, respectively, for different radiation conditions. The combined DAP and K-a meters developed recently, as well as the exposure data acquisition systems designed for monitoring one or more quantities or for determining the effective dose of a complicated examination, are described briefly. The most advanced software of these systems is able to display the dose distributions for the most exposed areas of the skin, on-line.