The document discusses guidelines for planning and establishing a diagnostic radiology facility from a radiation safety perspective. It outlines key factors to consider such as proper equipment choice, installation design, and role of qualified staff. For installation design, it recommends locating the facility away from high traffic areas and providing an appropriately sized room, structural shielding, and controlled access points. It also specifies minimum room sizes, wall thicknesses for shielding based on equipment power, and requirements for control rooms, dark rooms, doors, and signage. The overall aim is to reduce radiation exposure to workers, public and patients to as low as reasonably achievable.

1. Planning Of Radiological
Facility
By: Tanish khandelwal

2. Introduction
• In planning a radiology department from radiation safety
view point , the safety of all the concerned including
radiation workers, public at large, and patient ha to be
considered
• The aim of planning is to bring down the levels of
radiation exposure to as low as possible but well within
the permissible limits and to reduce exposures to
patients as well.
• The various sectors which contribute to the reduction of
doses are following:

3. …..CONT
1. Proper choice of the equipment
2. Proper design of the installation
3. Participation of qualified staff

4. Planning of Diagnostic Radiation
Department
1. Installation Design
• The installation planning includes the selection of
layout of various facilities , proper size of room,
structural shielding and location of control panel.

5. A. Location
•The site or room should be located
as far as possible from areas of high
occupancy and general traffic such
as maternity and pediatric wards and
other department of hospital that are
not directly related to radiation and it
use.

6. B. Layout
• The layout of the various facilities such as
dark room , doctors room, waiting area, etc., in
the x- ray department should aim at providing
integrated facilities so that handling of x-ray
equipment and related operations can be done
with adequate protection.

7. C. Room Size
• The room size should be such as to permit
installation, use and servicing of equipment with
safety and convenience for operating personnel,
servicing personnel and patient and to keep control
panel at reasonable safe distance which is minimum 2
metres from the machine

8. D. Shielding
• Appropriate shielding should be provided for the
walls, the ceiling and the floor of the room so that
the doses received by the occupationally exposed are
kept well below 20 msv and to the population well
below 1 msv.

9. E. Opening and ventilation
• Unshielded openings , if provided in the room for
ventilation or natural light must be located above a
height of 2m from the ground or finished floor level
outside the room.

10. F. Waiting area
• In order to avoid the crowding of patients and
relatives near the entrance door , waiting area must
be provided outside and adjacent the equipment
room.

11. G. Warning light and placard
• A suitable warning signal such as the red light must be
provided at a conspicuous place outside the room and
kept ON when the unit is in use, to prevent entry of
persons not connected with the examination or
treatment.
• An appropriate warning placard must also be posted
outside the room entrance or door.

12. 2. PROPER CHOICE OF
EQUIPMENT
• Radiological examination should be carried out only
with those machines which are intended to be used
for such examination. For example a mobile or
portable x-ray machine with less protection should
not be used for routine and regular radiography.
• Units with ordinary patient table cannot be used for
special examination involving more personnel and
complicated movements of patient.

13. 3. PARTICIPATION OF QUALIFIED
AND
TRAINED STAFF
• The participation of qualified staff is very important in
reducing the exposures. An unqualified person may take
more time for screening or may wrongly present the
radiograph compared to a qualified doctor.
• The radiologist and the technician both should be
trained in radiation safety aspects also so that they may
adopt all the steps to reduce the exposure to the
minimum level.

14. ESTABLISHING A DIAGNOSTIC
X-RAY FACILITY

15. 1. ROOM SIZE
• The room housing an x-ray unit shall be not
less than 18 meter square for general purpose
radiography and conventional fluoroscopy
equipment.
• X-ray rooms shall not be less than 4 meter.

16. 2. Wall Thickness
• If the X-ray installation is located in a residential complex, if shall be ensured
that
1. Walls of the X-ray rooms on which primary X-ray beams falls is not less than
35 cm or 14 inch thick brick or equivalent.
2. Walls of the X-ray rooms on which scattered X-ray falls is not less than 23 cm
or 9 inch thick brick or equivalent, and
3. There is a shielding equivalent to at least 23 cm or 9 inch thick brick or 1.7
mm lead in front of the doors and windows of the X-ray room to protect the
adjacent areas, either by general public or not under possession of the owner
of the X-ray room.
4. The ceiling must have a thickness of concrete not less than 6 inch or 13.5 cm.

17. 3. CONTROL ROOM
• For equipment operating at 125 kV or above, the control panel must be
installed in a separate control room located outside but contiguous to
the machine room and provide with appropriate shielding, direct
viewing and oral communication facility between the operator and the
patient.

18. 4.DOORS
• Doors to be lined with 1.5 mm thick lead sheet with proper
overlapping at the joint and junction and wall of 9 inch thickness of
brick and ceiling of 6 inch of concrete.

19. 5.Dark Room
• The dark room should be located in such a way that the primary beam
is not directed on it.
• Appropriate shielding must be provided for the dark room.

20. 6.Approval
• Two copies of the x-ray room layout drawn are sent for approval to
head, Radiological Safety Division, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
• AERB payable in Mumbai, towards charges for the approval of layout.

21. 7. Placard
• A warning placard must be posted outside the room entrance or door.