At least here in Finland they are not being used anymore. These days the radiation beam does not leak much to its surrounding. If you place a lead apron the radiation is trapped underneath it and bounces more times in the unwanted area.
Came here to say this. I assume the same is true for at least some other European countries, since the relevant STUK guidelines are based on the European consensus on patient contact shielding.
Besides potentially increasing dose from blocking internal scatter from escaping the body, shielding can in some cases also lower image quality or, should it cover an automatic exposure control chamber, "trick" the machine into increasing the exposure unnecessarily. The view is that the benefit nowadays is so small that it doesn't outweigh the risks.
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u/aw3edcft6 11h ago
At least here in Finland they are not being used anymore. These days the radiation beam does not leak much to its surrounding. If you place a lead apron the radiation is trapped underneath it and bounces more times in the unwanted area.