• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.171-180
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• 2016

This study was to evaluate the change in characteristics of concentration of ozone after exposure to high energy radiation in linac room. Background ozone concentration of linac room was measured and compared to ozone concentration around linac room. Background ozone concentration of linac room was mean $17.4{\pm}7.9ppb$. It was 50% of the ozone concentration($36.8{\pm}22.3ppb$) around linac room(p<0.05). The concentration of ozone after exposure to high energy radiation in linac room was elevated to double of background ozone level, intensity after exposure. with exposure time concentration of ozone increased proportionally. It showed maximum level at 130~180seconds and slowed a tendency to saturate. It required more than 10 minutes for ozone concentration in linac room to drop to ozone concentration around linac room. The concentration of ozone after exposure to high energy radiation is high enough to cause specific physical symptoms, such as acute dyspnea or chest pain due to dry cough. Exposure to high concentration of ozone in sealed linac room can aggravate pulmonary disease, so special attention is needed.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.247-254
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• 2004

According to developing high energy linear accelerators and treatment methods, like (3 dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT), intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), many radiotherapy centers are replacing older linear accelerators with new higher technical machines. This often presents a shielding problem as the designed shield for the existing rooms is not adequate for the higher technical machines. Additional shielding in limited existing space becomes necessary. We are replacing older brachytherapy room with new higher technical linear accelerator for IMRT. This room is not adequate for the IMRT machine without additional shielding design. The logical development of optimum structural shielding designs with concrete and high density shielding blocks are presented. We obtained following results by comparison between the pre-calculating values and actual survey of completed LINAC installation. High density shielding blocks have more powerful radiation protection about 2 times.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.283-289
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• 2015

Recently, high energy photon radiotherapy is a growing trend for increasing therapy results. Commonly, if you use high energy photons above 6~8 MeV nominal accelerator voltage, It lead the photo-nuclear reaction and the generation of photo-neutron are accompanied and these problematic factors are issued in the view of radiation protection. Therefore, in this study analyzed for dose distribution of photo-neutron in radiotherapy room based on MCNPX. As a result, absorbed dose is increased sharply from 10 MV to 12 MV. It was founded that the rapid increasement of photoneutron fluence was related to the absorbed dose at above 10 MV. Also, in case of the recommendation of ICRP 103, the outcome of an exchanged equivalent dose which based on calculated an absorbed dose, showed lower equivalent dose than ICRP 60 by reflecting the contribution of secondary photon for absorbed dose of human body in the low energy band.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.223-231
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• 2014

Medical linear accelerator is widely used in radiation treatment field, and high energy photons, above 10 MV nominal accelerator voltage, are commonly utilized for the radiation treatment. However, these high energy photons lead the photo-nuclear reaction and the generation of photo-neutrons are accompanied. Thus, these problematic factors are issued in the view of radiation protection. Therefore, linear accelerator and radiation treatment room are simulated from MCNPX program in this study. The measurement points of interest are selected and analyzed, and the resulting effects derived from the properties of photo-neutron are evaluated. Therefore, we realized that the number of generating photo-neutrons was decreased by depending on the distance from the source. No matter what the nominal energy is set, the rates thermal neutrons to fast neutrons are marginal. It is founded that the amount of the thermal neutrons were decreased by depending on the distance from the source.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.427-433
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• 2016

Recently increased use of high energy x-ray in radiation therapy, so therapeutic efficiency of tumors that located deep part also increased. However, photoneutron is problem which is generated caused by photoneuclear reaction. Photoneutron is continually required management because of that is more harmful than photon. In this regard, the study utilizing simulation of the Monte Carlo method is actively progress about photoneutron but measure is deficient. So this study was analyzed the correlation between the measured photon and photoneutron by radiation measurement device. As a result, photons were reduced when distance is farther and field size is smaller. But photoneutron were increased when field size is smaller and increased to a certain distance then reduced.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.121-125
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• 2011

This study was intended to evaluate the surface dose and depth dose of according to the distance of the treatment room wall. High energy photon beams from linear accelerators produce large scattered radiation by various components of the treatment head, collimator and walls or objects in the treatment room including the patient. The scattered radiation measured by thermoluminescence dosimeter(TLD). Linear accelerators rotation center of the four walls(X) distance was measured to be 236, 272, 303, and 337 cm. The result of 100 cGy and 200 cGy of 6 MV photon irradiation, surface dose was 0.49, 0.83 mSv at 236 cm of the shortest distance to the wall, In 272 cm 0.41, 0.53 mSv, 303 cm in the 0.28, 0.57 mSv, and 337 cm distance from the wall in the 0.33, 0.76 mSv surface dose respectively. There was remarkable difference in the surface dose among the treatment room wall distance. The results of useful data in relation to stochastic effect for radiation therapy patients.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.34-40
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• 1981

The logical development of an optimum structural shielding design and the computation of protective barriers for high energy radiation therapy room, Toshiba 13 MeV. are presented. We obtained following results by comparison in between the precalculating values and actual survey after complete installation of radiogenerating units. 1. The calculating formula for the protective barrier written in NCRP report #34(1970) was the most ideal and economic calculating methods for the construction of barrier and to determine thickness for the meeting requirements of the number of patients of 80-100 in daily treatment. 2. The precalculating values of protective barrier are 5 times more protective than that of actual measurement. It is depending on radiation workload and utilization the datas most sequrely. 3. The dose rate during exposure are 2-10 mR/hr at out of the door and the controll room. 4. The foul smelling and ozone gas production from long exposure of cancer patients cannot be eliminated when the room is ill ventilated.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2002

High energy photon beams from medical linear accelerators produce large scattered radiation by various components of the treatment head, collimator and walls or objects in the treatment room including the patient. These scattered radiation do not provide therapeutic dose and are considered a hazard from the radiation safety perspective. Scattered dose of therapeutic high energy radiation beams are contributed significant unwanted dose to the patient. ICRP take the position that a dose of 500mGy may cause abortion at any stage of pregnancy and that radiation detriment to the fetus includes risk of mental retardation with a possible threshold in the dose response relationship around 100 mGy for the gestational period. The ICRP principle of as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) was recommended for protection of occupation upon the linear no-threshold dose response hypothesis for cancer induction. We suggest this ALARA principle be applied to the fetus and testicle in therapeutic treatment. Radiation dose outside a photon treatment filed is mostly due to scattered photons. This scattered dose is a function of the distance from the beam edge, treatment geometry, primary photon energy, and depth in the patient. The need for effective shielding of the fetus and testicle is reinforced when young patients ate treated with external beam radiation therapy and then shielding designed to reduce the scattered photon dose to normal organs have to considered. Irradiation was performed in phantom using high energy photon beams produced by a Varian 2100C/D medical linear accelerator (Varian Oncology Systems, Palo Alto, CA) located at the Yonsei Cancer Center. The composite phantom used was comprised of a commercially available anthropomorphic Rando phantom (Phantom Laboratory Inc., Salem, YN) and a rectangular solid polystyrene phantom of dimensions $30cm{\times}30cm{\times}20cm$. the anthropomorphic Rando phantom represents an average man made from tissue equivalent materials that is transected into transverse 36 slices of 2.5cm thickness. Photon dose was measured using a Capintec PR-06C ionization chamber with Capintec 192 electrometer (Capintec Inc., Ramsey, NJ), TLD( VICTOREEN 5000. LiF) and film dosimetry V-Omat, Kodak). In case of fetus, the dosimeter was placed at a depth of loom in this phantom at 100cm source to axis distance and located centrally 15cm from the inferior edge of the $30cm{\times}30cm^2$ x-ray beam irradiating the Rando phantom chest wall. A acryl bridge of size $40cm{\times}40cm^2$ and a clear space of about 20 cm was fabricated and placed on top of the rectangular polystyrene phantom representing the abdomen of the patient. The leaf pot for testicle shielding was made as various shape, sizes, thickness and supporting stand. The scattered photon with and without shielding were measured at the representative position of the fetus and testicle. Measurement of radiation scattered dose outside fields and critical organs, like fetus position and testicle region, from chest or pelvic irradiation by large fie]d of high energy radiation beam was performed using an ionization chamber and film dosimetry. The scattered doses outside field were measured 5 - 10% of maximum doses in fields and exponentially decrease from field margins. The scattered photon dose received the fetus and testicle from thorax field irradiation was measured about 1 mGy/Gy of photon treatment dose. Shielding construction to reduce this scattered dose was investigated using lead sheet and blocks. Lead pot shield for testicle reduced the scatter dose under 10 mGy when photon beam of 60 Gy was irradiated in abdomen region. The scattered photon dose is reduced when the lead shield was used while the no significant reduction of scattered photon dose was observed and 2-3 mm lead sheets refuted the skin dose under 80% and almost electron contamination. The results indicate that it was possible to improve shielding to reduce scattered photon for fetus and testicle when a young patients were treated with a high energy photon beam.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.335-343
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• 2012

Intensity-modulated radiotherapy(IMRT) have the ability to provide better dose conformity and sparing of critical normal tissues than three-dimensional radiotherapy(3DCRT). Especially, with the benefit of health insurance in 2011, its use now increasingly in many modern radiotherapy departments. Also the use of linear accelerator with high-energy photon beams over 10 MV is increasing. As is well known, these linacs have the capacity to produce photonueutrons due to photonuclear reactions in materials with a large atomic number such as the target, flattening filters, collimators, and multi-leaf collimators(MLC). MLC-based IMRT treatments increase the monitor units and the probability of production of photoneutrons from photon-induced nuclear reactions. The purpose of this study is to quantitatively evaluate the dose of photoneutrons produced from 3DCRT and IMRT technique for Rando phantom in cervical cancer. We performed the treatment plans with 3DCRT and IMRT technique using Rando phantom for treatment of cervical cancer. An Rando phantom placed on the couch in the supine position was irradiated using 15 MV photon beams. Optically stimulated luminescence dosimeters(OSLD) were attached to 4 different locations (abdomen, chest, head and neck, eyes) and from center of field size and measured 5 times each of locations. Measured neutron dose from IMRT technique increased by 9.0, 8.6, 8.8, and 14 times than 3DCRT technique for abdomen, chest, head and neck, and eyes, respectively. When using IMRT with 15 MV photonbeams, the photoneutrons contributed a significant portion on out-of-field. It is difficult to prevent high energy photon beams to produce the phtoneutrons due to physical properties, if necessary, It is difficult to prevent high energy photon beams to produce the phtoneutrons due to physical properties, if necessary, it is need to provide the additional safe shielding on a linear accelerator and should therefore reduce the out-of-field dose.