The Development of Bismuth Shielding to Protect the Thyroid Gland in Radiations Environment

Background/Objectives: In order to protect thyroid gland and provide medical support in national catastrophe of radiation leakage, this study aimed to develop bismuth eco-friendly radiation shielding that does not contain lead. Methods/Statistical Analysis: It manufactured bismuth shielding and evaluated the characteristics of shielding medical radiation to protect thyroid gland and the quality of images. Findings: In medical radiation area, shielding characteristics of bismuth shielding was, 84% with 0.12 mm thickness, 92% with 0.25 mm thickness, and 96% with 0.5 mm thickness, showing rising efficiency as the thickness increased. In the images that used bismuth shielding of 0.12 mm thickness, image contrast was 4.9±0.4, clarity of boundaries 4.8±0.3, and lesion detection rate 4.8±0.3, showing similar image quality to the images obtained without shielding. In the images with bismuth shielding of 0.25mm thickness, image contrast was 3.0±0.1, clarity of boundaries 3.3±0.2, and lesion detection rate 3.1±0.1, and in the images with bismuth shielding of 0.5 mm thickness, image contrast was 2.9±0.1, clarity of boundaries 3.1±0.2, and lesion detection rate was 3.0±0.1. Improvements/Applications: Based on these results, in order to obtain the optimal medical images and reduce exposure dose of medical radiation, it is recommended to develop environment-friendly and light bismuth shielding with proper shielding capability.