Assessment of the extremity exposure during preparation and administration of 177 Lu – results of a multi-center study
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Despite the increased use of 177 Lu in nuclear medicine (NM) over the last 10 years, the knowledge of the actual exposure of the extremities due to manipulation of this pharmaceutical is limited. The purpose of this study is to assess the extremity dose during the preparation and administration of 177 Lu-labelled radiopharmaceuticals in a wide range of NM practices. Workers in 10 NM centres throughout Europe wore a ring dosimeter on the base of the index finger of the non-dominant hand during preparation and/or administration of 177 Lu-labelled radiopharmaceuticals. Information on manipulated activity, tasks performed and protection measures was collected to allow sub-analyses. The median ring dose per monitoring interval was 0.16 mSv, with a maximum of 2.27 mSv in one month. The median normalised dose amounted 3.5 µ Sv GBq −1 (range 0.5–525). The highest monthly doses were found for workers involved in preparation of the pharmaceutical. The workers performing manual administrations (6.5 µ Sv GBq −1 ) showed higher normalised ring doses than those using the gravity method (3.5 µ Sv GBq −1 ) or a syringe pump (1.0 µ Sv GBq −1 ). Explanations for the wide range of normalised ring doses may be found in the different techniques applied in this study and the differences in minimum reportable doses of the dosimeters. When the data is extrapolated using a fingertip to ring dose ratio of 5, an annual fingertip dose of 1–136 mSv is found, with a median fingertip dose of 10 mSv per year. Extremity exposure during 177 Lu handling remained well below dose limits. The highest normalised doses occurred during preparation and manual administration. Overall, this investigation shows doses remain low when appropriate radiation protection measures (e.g. shielding and minimising time at short distance) are being applied.
Institutions: University of Łódź, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, Soreq Nuclear Research Center, European Institute of Oncology, Kuopio University Hospital, Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, University Hospital in Motol, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht University, Istituto Oncologico Veneto, The Netherlands Cancer Institute
Language: English
Topic: Radiation Dose and Imaging
Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,325
Funder: Pioneer Fund
OpenAlex ID: W7165948220