The diagnostic reference levels in France

Titre du congrès :IRPA 2006 2nd European IRPA Congress on Radiation Protection Ville du congrès :Paris Date du congrès :15/05/2006

Within the framework of the directive 97/43 EURATOM implementation, diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) in radiology and nuclear medicine were introduced into French regulation by the decree of 12 February 2004. For conventional radiology, DRLs are given for 9 adult and 8 paediatric examinations as entrance surface dose. For computed tomography (CT), the relevant dosimetric quantities are the weighted CT Dose Index (CTDIw) and the Dose Length Product DLP). DRLs are given only for 4 adult examinations. In nuclear medicine, DRLs are established on the basis of survey of administered activities. For the moment, DRLs are onsidered as "the activity levels recommended in the radiopharmaceuticals manufacturer 's prescribing information" value depending on the patient weight). They apply to 10 examinations.