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Dedicated breast PET (MAMMI-PET) in daily clinical practice: implications for radiation safety of nuclear medicine personnel

Aim. A dedicated breast PET (MAMMI-PET) for prone position imaging was recently introduced for better visualization of small breast cancer lesions. The aim of the present study was to evaluate radiation safety for nuclear medicine technologists (NMTs) for additional MAMMI-PET imaging using daily practice standards. Methods. Five patients who underwent PET/CT before pre-operative systemic treatment (PST) or radiotherapy and gave informed consent for an additional MAMMI-PET scan between September and November of 2013 were included in this study. The additional scan was acquired between 90 and 120 min after injection of either 180 or 240 MBq 18F-FDG, depending on body mass index. Radiation doses were measured using a dose rate monitor (DRM) before acquisition and NMTs wore electronic personal μSv dosimeters (EPD) during patient related proceedings. Results. Using the results of the DRM to predict the radiation dose at 1 m we found on average an increased expected dose during the PET/CT scan (4.4 μSv) compared to the MAMMI-PET scan (2.2 μSv). As a consequence of safety measures during PET/CT, the EPD showed a radiation dose of <1 μSv per PET/CT acquisition, but a mean of 0.6 μSv per MAMMI-PET acquisition. Conclusions. The additional radiation dose for NMTs following possible implementation of a MAMMI-PET acquisition after PET/CT is expected to remain within levels marked by national and international legislations. Further reduction of this dose may be established with additional safety measurements.