{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T16:20:42Z","timestamp":1786119642889,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]],"date-time":"2026-08-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785974400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/pages\/standard-publication-reuse-rights"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ongoing Research Funding Program","award":["ORF-2026-1730"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ORF-2026-1730"]}]},{"name":"King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>This study established diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) for common adult single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) procedures in Bahrain to support dose optimization and alignment with international radiation protection standards. Data were retrospectively collected from two major nuclear medicine centers, representing most national SPECT services. Administered radiopharmaceutical activities (MBq) for adult patients (70\u00a0kg\u00a0\u00b1\u00a020%) undergoing routine examinations were analyzed. DRLs were calculated as the 75th percentile of administered activity following International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publication 135. A total of 1098 studies were included. Variations between centers reflected differences in administration practices. Overall, Bahrain\u2019s proposed DRLs were lower than regional values reported in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and were comparable to European benchmarks. The findings provide a national reference framework for optimization of nuclear medicine practice and support ongoing monitoring to maintain compliance with international radiation safety recommendations from the ICRP and International Atomic Energy Agency.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/rpd\/ncag086","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]],"date-time":"2026-07-17T11:39:49Z","timestamp":1784288389000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Establishing national diagnostic reference levels for adult nuclear medicine single-photon emission computed tomography imaging in Bahrain"],"prefix":"10.1093","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-4611-8280","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohamed Khaled","family":"Bucheer","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiological Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University , P.O. Box 10219, Riyadh 11433 ,","place":["Saudi Arabia"]},{"name":"Nuclear Medicine Department, King Hamad University Hospital, Royal Medical Services , Building 2345, Road 2835, Block 228, P.O. Box 24343, Busaiteen ,","place":["Kingdom of Bahrain"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7776-9681","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wadha","family":"Alyami","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiological Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University , P.O. Box 10219, Riyadh 11433 ,","place":["Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"11","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-98947-1_2","volume-title":"Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry","author":"Anderson","year":"2019"},{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"7","DOI":"10.1016\/j.radmp.2023.12.001","article-title":"A summary of UNSCEAR evaluation on medical exposure to ionizing radiation and call for more representative data","volume":"5","author":"Chen","year":"2024","journal-title":"Radiat Med Prot"},{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"102565","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejmp.2023.102565","article-title":"Establishment and utilization of diagnostic reference levels in medical imaging: results from a survey and consultation under the IAEA technical cooperation programme in Europe and Central Asia","volume":"108","author":"Faj","year":"2023","journal-title":"Phys Med"},{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1177\/0146645317717209","article-title":"ICRP publication 135: diagnostic reference levels in medical imaging","volume":"46","author":"Va\u00f1\u00f3","year":"2017","journal-title":"Ann ICRP"},{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref5","volume-title":"Radiological Protection of Patients in Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy: Proceedings of an International Conference Held in M\u00e1laga, Spain, 26\u201330 March 2001","author":"International Atomic Energy Agency","year":"2001"},{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","volume-title":"IAEA Safety Standards Series No. GSR Part 3","year":"2014","DOI":"10.61092\/iaea.u2pu-60vm"},{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"285","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejmp.2021.03.018","article-title":"The growing potential of diagnostic reference levels as a dynamic tool for dose optimization","volume":"84","author":"Damilakis","year":"2021","journal-title":"Phys Med"},{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"316","DOI":"10.4103\/jmp.jmp_47_24","article-title":"Patient radiation exposure monitoring in medical imaging (IAEA safety report series no. 112)","volume":"49","author":"Uniyal","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Med Phys"},{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"54","DOI":"10.2967\/jnmt.121.262175","article-title":"National diagnostic reference levels for nuclear medicine in Kuwait","volume":"50","author":"Alnaaimi","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Nucl Med Technol"},{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"283","DOI":"10.1016\/j.zemedi.2021.11.007","article-title":"Diagnostic reference levels for nuclear medicine imaging in Austria: a nationwide survey of used dose levels for adult patients","volume":"32","author":"Wachabauer","year":"2022","journal-title":"Z Med Phys"},{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref11","volume-title":"Current Australian diagnostic reference levels for nuclear medicine [Internet]. Melbourne","author":"Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency"},{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref12","volume-title":"ARSAC notes for guidance: Good clinical practice in nuclear medicine [Internet]","author":"Administration of Radioactive Substances Advisory Committee","year":"2024"},{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"799","DOI":"10.1007\/s12149-020-01512-4","article-title":"The 2020 national diagnostic reference levels for nuclear medicine in Japan","volume":"34","author":"Abe","year":"2020","journal-title":"Ann Nucl Med"},{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"031505","DOI":"10.1088\/1361-6498\/ace452","article-title":"The establishment of national diagnostic reference levels for adult SPECT-CT in Saudi Arabia","volume":"43","author":"Al-Qahtani","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Radiol Prot"},{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref15","article-title":"The use of electronic health records in Kingdom of Bahrain hospitals: a national survey","volume":"15","author":"Abuzeyad","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Health Inform Dev Ctries"},{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e001351","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjoq-2021-001351","article-title":"Improving physician compliance with mammography screening by implementing a breast cancer screening guideline at a hospital in Bahrain","volume":"10","author":"Abou Leila","year":"2021","journal-title":"BMJ Open Qual"},{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1960","DOI":"10.2967\/jnumed.115.160861","article-title":"Role of reference levels in nuclear medicine: a report of the SNMMI dose optimization task force","volume":"56","author":"Alessio","year":"2015","journal-title":"J Nucl Med"},{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1127","DOI":"10.1007\/s00330-019-06422-2","article-title":"Long-term experience and analysis of data on diagnostic reference levels: the good, the bad, and the ugly","volume":"30","author":"Roch","year":"2020","journal-title":"Eur Radiol"},{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1819","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jcmg.2020.11.011","article-title":"Worldwide variation in the use of nuclear cardiology camera technology, reconstruction software, and imaging protocols","volume":"14","author":"Hirschfeld","year":"2021","journal-title":"JACC Cardiovasc Imaging"},{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"109","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejmp.2020.09.005","article-title":"National survey to set diagnostic reference levels in nuclear medicine single photon emission imaging in Croatia","volume":"78","author":"Debeljuh","year":"2020","journal-title":"Phys Med"},{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref21","volume-title":"diagnostic reference levels in thirty-six European countries","author":"European Commission"},{"key":"2026080614385593800_ref22","volume-title":"Reference levels and achievable doses in medical and dental imaging: recommendations for the United States (NCRP Report No. 172) [Internet]","author":"National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements","year":"2012"}],"container-title":["Radiation Protection Dosimetry"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/rpd\/advance-article-pdf\/doi\/10.1093\/rpd\/ncag086\/70510920\/ncag086.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/rpd\/advance-article-pdf\/doi\/10.1093\/rpd\/ncag086\/70510920\/ncag086.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]],"date-time":"2026-08-06T18:39:11Z","timestamp":1786041551000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/rpd\/advance-article\/doi\/10.1093\/rpd\/ncag086\/8753631"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]]},"references-count":22,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/rpd\/ncag086","relation":{},"ISSN":["0144-8420","1742-3406"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0144-8420","type":"print"},{"value":"1742-3406","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]]},"article-number":"ncag086"}}