Healthcare workers are exposed to a lot of radiations coming from the sun and artificial sources. These radiations cause many health problems to the affected individuals and their generations. The magnitude of the skin to resist some radiations depends on the climatological factors and personal sensitivity to Ultra Violet Rays (UVR). Ultraviolet Rays are the most dangerous in the electromagnetic spectrum and the wavelength bands. This project describes the tests and methods necessary for establishing a radiation protection program on the skin using fabrics. The utilization of intelligent medical textiles in the healthcare centers has a enormous potential of changing the healthcare provision and services for a large community (Rupp et al 2001). These would include those who suffer from chronic diseases and, others with specific needs.
Textile radiology protection is a program that will ensure all workers and patients are protected from harmful radiations found in the healthcare centers. Textile is considered as one of the basic requirements for human beings. Many innovations have emerged in this industry with the effort of satisfying human desires and increasing the life span. The program will focus on smart electronic textiles within the textile industry that have the potential of preventing radiations within the healthcare industry. The proposed garments will contain electronics, and interconnections woven in the fabric to make them comfortable and nonhazardous to the wearer. A number of radiation protection clothing will be discussed in this program (Asomerville 2012). These are listed below:
Thyroid shield
Lead aprons
Eye protection
Hand protection and,
Storage systems.
Brief description
Brief summary of literature review
The literature review will focus on the current applications used for radiology protection in the market, and the previous research works on the same area focusing on the main issues that they never tackled. After carrying out the previous research on the topic of radiology protection, the research will make use of the ideas generated to develop objectives and goals for the program. The following books will be used in the literature review:
1) An introduction to radiation protection in medicine by Jamie V. Trapp and Tomas Kron
2) Technical textile yarns industrial and medical applications by R.Alagirusamy and A.Das
3) Medical and healthcare textiles, by S. C. Anand , J. F. Kennedy, M. Miraftab and S. Rajendarn and,
4) Medical textile and biomaterials for healthcare, by S. C. An and, J. F. Kennedy, M. Miraftab, S. Rajendran
Research questions
The research will be guided by the following questions:
1. Are people aware of the risks associated with exposure to different radiations?
2. What measures have the healthcare workers taken to ensure full protection from radiations?
3. What type of textile do these people use to protect themselves from radiations? How effective are they?
4. Are the existing textile products (uniforms) available in the market comfortable for the users (staff and patients)?
5. What is the level of exposure to radiations for patients, workers, and the community?
Objectives
The main objective for the research is to develop an effective textile material for radiology protection in healthcare centers. The specific objectives are:
1) To determine the effect of radiology of human life.
2) To determine the best technology to use while designing radiology protection fabrics.
3) To establish the best materials for making radiology protecting garments.
Rationale for the program
This research aims at developing a textile material for radiology protection for both physicians and patients in healthcare centers. In our day to day lives, hazards take place in many forms, from sharp edges, falling objects, chemicals, and many other potential dangerous materials. According to Occupation Safety and Administration (OSHA), employees in every sector should protect themselves from different types of hazards that are capable of causing injury to them or people they associate with. Radiations are harmful to people’s lives and if not well protected would lead to many dangers on both the physicians, and patients (United States Department for Labor 2003; Allianz Small Business Club 2000). Undertaking the program to introduce textiles fro radiation prevention has many advantages to people who are exposed to different types of radiations on the daily basis. On the other hand, textile manufacturers should make use of the current technology, and produce garments that protect the user from any type of harmful radiation. This program focuses on the healthcare centers where people go to seek medical assistance.
The program will have a lot of benefits to the community in many forms. The program puts the community members in a position to avoid some side effects associated with exposure to harmful radiations. Healthcare centers will be providing their patients with protective garments to wear while undergoing various therapies that use different types of radiations. This reduces risks of some diseases like cancer, mental problems, and disabilities associated with exposure to harmful radiations. This ensures a healthy society in the future. On the other hand, the hospital staff will gain knowledge and understand the importance of protecting their bodies since the program will offer extensive training sessions to physicians (Hartmann et al 2000; Health Physics office 2012).
Methods
After carrying out the literature review an extensive method will be used to carry out the research and collect the necessary data. The research design will analyze the population of interest that composes of healthcare workers, patients, and the community. A descriptive research method of data collection will be utilized in order to increase the level of data validity.
Major literature review
The literature review will cover different topics to be discussed in the program. First a review of the current textiles used in radiology protection in medicine will take place. The medical situations involved with radiations and tools for diagnosing these situations in treating human beings have been more efficient, but the textiles used before did not give 100 percent protection. According to Jamie and Tomas (2012), the method adapted provides a practical description of radiation safety in medicine. The basis of issues related to radiation protection is discussed.
The review will still focus on the types of textiles and manufacturers associated with radiation protection garments. The design of these textiles is based on five aspects. These are: interconnected architecture, platform, hardware integration, software, and performance matrix (Alagirusamy 2010). The production cost and components used will be analyzed and compared with the proposed textiles. Moreover, the literature review will focus on the worldwide textiles and biomaterials. Medical textiles form a major area within the textile industry and play a significant role in the medical healthcare centers (Anand 2012).
Methods & methodology
Questionnaires and in-depth interviews will be administered to the respondents and these will serve as the major tools for data collection throughout the research. Because the health workers are the most exposed to radiation risks, the proposed textiles will be first tested on 20 volunteers whose progress will be analyzed on daily basis. The research will conduct a survey on the type of garments that the target group uses, and compare them with those introduced in the program. The sampling procedure administered will involve using the available resources in order to gather full information regarding the effectiveness of the proposed program.
Laboratory tests using animals like rats and rabbits will be conducted to determine the effect of wearing the electronic textiles on humans to avoid exposure ton risks. The samples animals will be used to determine the possible reduction of skin damages by covering it with a protected fabric. The tests with animals will take a period of two months before using human volunteers to carry out the actual test. The fieldwork will involve going into the community and determining the level of exposure to radiology effects. The community members will be asked about the methods they use to protect themselves against various radiations especially in workshops, and during strong sunshine.
The quantitative and qualitative data collection methods will be applied in the program. Face-to-face interviews will be used since they are a vital source of unbiased and reliable information (Reisman, Gienapp, and Stachowiak, 2004). The data analysis process will consist of employing statistical tools to allow for inference with respect to the data gathered. The procedure will begin with the summary of all the responses from the data collection techniques employed, grouping the responses, and comparing the results using charts, graphs, and tables. The results will then be analyzed appropriately to determine the advantages of using textiles in radiology protection. In addition, establishment of the dependent variables correlation will occur after running crossbars between the two variables. Finally, factor analysis will aid in establishing any kind of similarities of the group in the variable of the data. Moreover, the report will give recommendations for any other person wishing to carry out a research on the same area in future.
References list
Alagirusamy, R. 2010. Technical textile yarns industrial and medical applications. Boca Raton:
CRC Press
Allianz Small Business Club. 2000. Duty of Care under Occupation Health Safety. Allianz
Australia Insurance Limited. Retrieved from:
http://www.allianz.com.au/aalaus/aalaus.nsf/docs/C37769FF55C28DC6CA2578A1004510D6/$FILE/NSW+Duty+of+Care.pdf
Anald, S. C., Kennedy, J. K., and Rajendran, S. 2012, Medical Textiles and Biomaterials for
Healthcare, United Kingdom: Woodhead Publishing Limited
Asomerville. 2012, Radiation Protection Clothing. Retrieved from:
http://www.asomerville.ltd.uk/radiation-protection-clothing_1.html
Hartmann, W. D., Steilmann, K. and Ullsperger, A. 2000, High-Tech Fashion. Witten,
Germany: Heimdall Verlag,
Health Physics Office. 2012, Radiation Protection Guidance for Hospital Staff. Retrieved from:
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/EHS/prod/researchlab/radlaser/Hospital_Guidance_document.pdf
Jamie V. T. and Tomas K. 2012, an Introduction to Radiation Protection in Medicine
Taylor and Francis Group Publishing
Reisman, J., Gienapp, A., & Stachwiak, S. 2004, A handbook of data collection
tools. Anne E. Casey Foundation
Rupp J, et al. 2001, Textiles for protection against harmful ultraviolet radiation. International
Textiles Bulletin ;47 (6): 8 – 20.
United States Department for Labor. 2003, Occupation Safety and Administration (OSHA).
Retrieved from:
http://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3151.html
