Physics in medicine and biology
-
Radio-guided occult lesion localisation using iodine-125 seeds (ROLLIS) for surgical removal of impalpable breast lesions has been increasingly used as an alternative to hook-wire localisation. This technique involves implanting a low-level radioactive seed into the lesion, followed by excision of the lesion guided using a hand-held gamma probe. Although the level of radiation exposure from this procedure is low, there has not been an appropriate method to quantify the organ dose. ⋯ The calculated dose rate factors from the ROLLIS procedure ranged from 0.0097 to 0.0477 mGy · h-1 · MBq-1 depending on many factors including breast size, lesion size, seed number, seed activity and the time in situ. Lookup tables were compiled to allow a convenient way to calculate the mean absorbed dose for future ROLLIS patients. Based on clinical data collected at our institution, the mean absorbed dose to the breast for a typical ROLLIS patient would be approximately 0.50 mGy.