Portable radiography in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) produces scatter that can expose nearby neonates and healthcare workers, and space constraints may limit distance-based protection. This study aims to develop and validate a practical incubator-mounted shielding device and quantify its effect on scatter and projected occupational dose. A 0.5-mm Pb-equivalent sheet was shaped to fit the incubator, covered with cleanable vinyl, and secured with Velcro. Scatter was measured using a PMMA phantom with a 25.4 × 25.4 cm cross-section and 10-cm thickness at multiple angles and distances (0.5-2.0 m) for four exposure techniques (60-90 kVp) with and without shielding, including inside-incubator and adjacent-incubator scenarios. Angle-averaged dose at 1 m decreased by 92% (60 kVp/2 mAs), 86% (70 kVp/10 mAs), 85% (80 kVp/20 mAs) and 84% (90 kVp/63 mAs), with reductions consistent across angles and distances. Dual deployment further reduced scatter to adjacent incubators and nearby staff positions. Using institutional workload assumptions, projected annual occupational doses in the common-use 60 kVp/2 mAs scenario were already low at baseline and decreased by >90% with shielding, remaining <0.1 mSv/year at all tested distances. At 50 cm under this scenario, the estimate decreased from 0.034579 to 0.002871 mSv/year. User acceptance was surveyed among nurses and radiologic technologists (mean 4.59/5). This practical shielding approach provides consistent scatter reduction and may complement distance and exposure optimization in NICU radiography when space is limited.
Cheewakul et al. (Sun,) studied this question.