Release of Patients After Radionuclide Therapy: Radiation Protection Considerations
Webinar Visit Webinar
23 September 2025, 3:00 pm CEST (Vienna time)
Presenters: Jens Kurth (Germany), Célian Michel (France)
Moderator: Chadia Rizk (IAEA)
About the webinar
As the use of radiopharmaceuticals in therapy continues to expand, it is increasingly important to address the radiation protection challenges associated with patient release and post-treatment scenarios, including the death of a patient following therapy.
This webinar will explore regulatory, public and occupational safety aspects related to the release of patients after radionuclide therapy and the safe handling of deceased patients who have recently undergone such treatments. It will address measures to protect family members, the general public, healthcare workers and funeral professionals from potential radiation exposure in these scenarios.
Tailored for a broad audience — including nuclear medicine physicians, technologists, nurses, radiation protection officers, medical physicists, regulators, funeral professionals and hospital administrators — this session will feature expert-led presentations followed by a live discussion.
Participants will gain practical insights into current guidelines, real world practices and emerging challenges in this important area of radiation protection.
Learning objectives:
- Recognize the regulatory criteria for releasing patients following radionuclide therapy.
- Identify main risks and protective measures for family members, the public, and the healthcare environment following radionuclide therapy.
- Review dose assessment methods and regulatory criteria used to determine the safe release of patients following radionuclide therapy.
- Examine exposure scenarios, dose assessment methods and safety recommendations for undertakers (including transport and embalming) and crematorium staff following the death of patients after radionuclide therapy.
About the presenters
Jens Kurth is Senior Medical Physicist at the Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Rostock, Germany, with nearly 20 years of experience in the field. He holds a degree in electrical engineering, with postgraduate training in medical physics and a habilitation in experimental nuclear medicine. His work focuses on dosimetry for radionuclide therapies, quantitative nuclear imaging and radiation protection aspects. He also serves as Chair of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine Radiation Protection Committee and is President Elect of the German Society of Medical Physics.
Célian Michel has been working as a technical expert since 2019 at the French Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety, which was recently merged into the French Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority. Trained as a medical physicist, he spent five years working in French cancer centres, specializing in nuclear medicine and medical imaging. His current work focuses on radiation protection in the medical field, both for patients and healthcare professionals. He is also a member of the Heads of the European Radiological Protection Competent Authorities, where he participates in the Working Group on Medical Applications, with a particular focus on its work package on nuclear medicine.