X-ray and radiation protection at the animal clinic

An animal that has an X-ray taken is typically only exposed once or a few times in its life. That is not how it is for clinic staff. A veterinary nurse involved in X-rays daily is exposed to radiation again and again year after year — and it is precisely this repeated cumulative exposure that makes staff radiation protection a separate and serious discipline not just a formality.

Since 2018, it has been a legal requirement that all veterinary hospitals and clinics where work is done with CT, MRI, fluoroscopy, dental X-ray or conventional X-ray must have appointed a radiation protection officer. The officer is responsible for ensuring that the clinic's equipment, instructions and procedures regarding radiation comply with the rules, and is the person you should know and ask if you are in doubt about a specific procedure at your workplace.

Radiation protection is based on a few simple but crucial principles: the greater the distance from the radiation source, the lower the dose; the better the shielding (lead), the lower the dose; and the shorter the time in the radiation field, the lower the dose. In practice, this means that staff should generally leave the room, if possible, while the recording is being taken.

• 01Leave the room during the exposure if it is at all possible.
• 02Use fixation aids such as sandbags, foam and tape to hold the animal in position rather than holding it by hand.
• 03If you exceptionally cannot leave the room, you must use full personal radiation protection — lead apron, shield and radiation protective gloves — and keep the greatest possible distance from the radiation source.
• 04Remove metal items such as jewelry and metal-buckled collars from the recording field before the image is taken.
• 05Make sure that only strictly necessary staff are present for the recording.

Personnel working with X-rays wear a personal dosimeter that measures the accumulated radiation dose over time. The dosimeter is worn visibly and consistently, and the clinic monitors the measurements on an ongoing basis so that no employee is exposed to a dose that approaches or exceeds the set limit values. A forgotten or incorrectly placed dosimeter gives a misleading picture of actual exposure and undermines the entire purpose of monitoring.

A blurry or incorrectly angled image often means the exposure must be repeated—thereby exposing both animals and staff to radiation an extra time. Good preparation, correct positioning, and use of restraint aids instead of hands therefore not only reduce individual exposure but also the risk that the exposure won't succeed the first time.

“The best protection against radiation is the one you don't need at all — use fastening aids and distance before you use lead.”