The Risk of Radiation Exposure to the Eyes of the Interventional Pain Physician

Table 1

ICRP threshold dose values for damage to the eyes in Sv and REM [5, 13].

		Acute single exposure	Highly fractionated or protracted exposures	Annual dose rate for early highly fractionated or protracted exposures for many years
Detectable opacities	SI unit	0.5–2.0 Sv	5 Sv	>0.1 Sv per year
	Conventional unit	50–200 REM	500 REM	>10 REM/year
Visual impairment (cataract)	SI unit	5 Sv	>8 Sv	>0.15 Sv (150 mSv/year)
	Conventional unit	500 REM	800 REM	>15 REM/year