Program Information
Nuclear Medicine: Regulatory Guidelines and Computational Methods for Safe Release of Radioactive Patients
R Wendt1*, F Mourtada2*, (1) UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bellaire, TX, (2) Christiana Care Hospital, Newark, DE
MO-A-103-1 Monday 8:00AM - 10:00AM Room: 103Radiation therapy using radioactive materials within the patient, i.e., permanently implanted sealed brachytherapy seeds and unsealed targeted radiopharmaceuticals, is routinely used to treat cancer patients. Radioactive patients may safely be released from radiation safety restrictions when the most exposed person is unlikely to receive more than 5 mSv (500 mrem) according to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. NUREG 1556 Volume 9 Appendix U Revision 2 presents regulatory guidance that may be used to assure compliance with this limit. This risk-based approach is a big step forward from the prior activity-based release criteria. This session will introduce commonly used radiation therapies using internal sealed and unsealed radioactive sources and discuss the criteria and computational methods for the safe release of radioactive patients. Essential components of NRC Part 35 Medical Use of Byproduct Material will also be presented.
Learning Objectives:
1. Introduce commonly used radiation therapies involving internally administered radioactive materials
2. Present NRC guidelines and perform the calculations in the regulatory guidance documents
3. Understand the implications and limitation of the release criteria calculation
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