Author(s)

J. Owusu-Banahene^1,2*, E. O. Darko^1,2, D. F. Charles¹, A. Maruf¹, I. Hanan³, G. Amoako³

¹Radiation Protection Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Accra, Ghana.
²Graduate School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Atomic Campus, Kwabenya-Accra, Ghana.
³Department of Physics, College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.

During the operation of an X-ray machine, if the radiation protection of X-ray room is insufficient, not only the patient but also clinical staffs as well as public are exposed to high X-ray exposures. In this research work, leakage and scattered radiations were measured from X-ray machine in the radiology department of Cape Coast Teaching hospital in the Cape Coast Municipality of Ghana. The scattered radiation exposures of X-rays in some selected areas within the facility were measured. The X-ray machine was operated for a range of kilo voltage peaks of kV_p 77, 70, 63 and 66 with intensities 20, 6.3 and 8.0 mAs, which represents the main technique factors of some body parts such as chest, lumbar spine and extremities during radiographic examinations. The measurements were performed using a RADOS-120 Universal survey meter. The radiation doses rates measured in the various locations in the Radiology Department of Cape Coast Teaching Hospital of Ghana were in the range of 0.10 μSv/hr to 0.12 μSv/hr. These values were all within the background measurement of 0.10 μSv/hr. Moreover, there were no risks of high radiation doses to patients, staffs and people visiting the X-ray department. The results obtained indicated that within the radiology department of the Hospital, all the selected locations were very safe to patients, occupational workers and the general public which could be attributed to adequate shielding in the facility.

X-Rays, Exposure, Dose, Scattered and Leakage Radiation

Owusu-Banahene, J. , Darko, E. , Charles, D. , Maruf, A. , Hanan, I. and Amoako, G. (2018) Scatter Radiation Dose Assessment in the Radiology Department of Cape Coast Teaching Hospital-Ghana. Open Journal of Radiology, 8, 299-306. doi: 10.4236/ojrad.2018.84033.