The evaluation of skin doses during manipulation of radioactive sources can be a critical issue, worth using the most accurate calculation strategies available. The aim of this work was to compare the results of the analytical approach used in VARSKIN with the simulation of radiation transport and interaction by Monte Carlo calculations in GAMOS (GEANT4-based Architecture for Medicine-Oriented Simulations), and to provide an accurate and versatile tool for the evaluation of skin doses from radionuclide sources of any realistic shape (e.g. cylindrical, parallelepiped), even in the presence of multiple interposed absorber layers. A set of twenty radionuclides (pure β, β-γ, Auger and γ emitters) was selected for comparison, which are among the most frequently employed in nuclear medicine and laboratory practices. We studied a point-like and a cylindrical source, also in the presence of varying thicknesses of absorbing layers. We found a general agreement for most nuclides when the source was directly in contact with skin or in the presence of a thin layer of absorbing material. However, when the absorber thickness increased, significant differences were found for several nuclides. In these cases, the proposed method based on a dedicated Monte Carlo simulation could give more accurate results in reasonable times, which could optimise accuracy when assessing skin doses in routine as well as in incidental exposure scenarios.

Evaluation of skin absorbed doses during manipulation of radioactive sources: a comparison between VARSKIN code and Monte Carlo simulations

Amato, Ernesto
Primo
;
Italiano, Antonio
Ultimo
2018-01-01

Abstract

The evaluation of skin doses during manipulation of radioactive sources can be a critical issue, worth using the most accurate calculation strategies available. The aim of this work was to compare the results of the analytical approach used in VARSKIN with the simulation of radiation transport and interaction by Monte Carlo calculations in GAMOS (GEANT4-based Architecture for Medicine-Oriented Simulations), and to provide an accurate and versatile tool for the evaluation of skin doses from radionuclide sources of any realistic shape (e.g. cylindrical, parallelepiped), even in the presence of multiple interposed absorber layers. A set of twenty radionuclides (pure β, β-γ, Auger and γ emitters) was selected for comparison, which are among the most frequently employed in nuclear medicine and laboratory practices. We studied a point-like and a cylindrical source, also in the presence of varying thicknesses of absorbing layers. We found a general agreement for most nuclides when the source was directly in contact with skin or in the presence of a thin layer of absorbing material. However, when the absorber thickness increased, significant differences were found for several nuclides. In these cases, the proposed method based on a dedicated Monte Carlo simulation could give more accurate results in reasonable times, which could optimise accuracy when assessing skin doses in routine as well as in incidental exposure scenarios.
2018
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11570/3119728
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