• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.138-147
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• 2005

The Monte Carlo method cannot have been used for routine treatment planning because of heavy time consumption for the acceptable accuracy. Since calculation time is proportional to particle histories, we can save time by decreasing the number of histories. However, a small number of histories can cause serious uncertainties. In this study, we proposed Monte Carlo dose computation time and uncertainty reduction method using specially designed filters and adaptive denoising process. Proposed algorithm was applied to 6 MV photon and 21 MeV electron dose calculations in homogeneous and heterogeneous phantoms. Filtering time was negligible comparing to Monte Carlo simulation time. The accuracy was improved dramatically in all situations and the simulation of 1 $\%$ to 10$\%$ number of histories of benchmark in photon and electron dose calculation showed the most beneficial result. The empirical reduction of necessary histories was about a factor of ten to fifty from the result.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.30-37
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• 2014

Recently High-Definition Reference Korean-Man (HDRK-Man) and High-Definition Reference Korean-Woman (HDRK-Woman) were constructed in Korea. The HDRK phantoms were designed to represent respectively reference Korean male and female to calculate effective doses for Korean by performing Monte Carlo dose calculation. However, the Monte Carlo dose calculation requires detailed knowledge on computational human phantoms and Monte Carlo simulation technique which regular researchers in radiation protection dosimetry and practicing health physicists do not have. Recently the UFPE (Federal University of Pernambuco) research group has developed, and opened to public, an online Monte Carlo dose calculation system called CALDOSE_X(www.caldose.org). By using the CALDOSE_X, one can easily perform Monte Carlo dose calculations. However, the CALDOSE_X used caucasian phantoms to calculate organ doses or effective doses which are limited for Korean. The present study developed an online reference Korean dose calculation system which can be used to calculate effective doses for Korean.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.240-248
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• 2003

The Monte Carlo calculation is the most accurate means of predicting radiation dose, but its accuracy is accompanied by an increase in the amount of time required to produce a statistically meaningful dose distribution. In this study, the effects on calculation time by introducing variance reduction techniques and increasing computing power, respectively, in the Monte Carlo dose calculation for a 6 MV photon beam from the Varian 600 C/D were estimated when maintaining accuracy of the Monte Carlo calculation results. The EGSnrc­based BEAMnrc code was used to simulate the beam and the EGSnrc­based DOSXYZnrc code to calculate dose distributions. Variance reduction techniques in the codes were used to describe reduced­physics, and a computer cluster consisting of ten PCs was built to execute parallel computing. As a result, time was more reduced by the use of variance reduction techniques than that by the increase of computing power. Because the use of the Monte Carlo dose calculation in clinical practice is yet limited by reducing the computational time only through improvements in computing power, introduction of reduced­physics into the Monte Carlo calculation is inevitable at this point. Therefore, a more active investigation of existing or new reduced­physics approaches is required.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1995.05a
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• pp.931-936
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• 1995

서울시 중심부 300m 상공에서 약 22kT의 플루토늄 원폭이 폭발했을 때를 가정하고 폭발시 나오는 초기 방사선에 의한 선량을 계산하였다. 계산을 위하여 몬테칼로 코드인 MCNP4A를 이용하였으며 방사선의 위해도를 알아보기 위하여 선량당량으로 환산 하였다. 계산 결과 가까운 거리에서는 평균자유행로가 짧은 중성자에 의한 선량이 높게 나왔으나 거리가 멀어질수록 감마선에 의한 영향이 더 큰 것으로 나타났다.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.234-239
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• 2003

We examined the variation of percent depth dose (PDD) curves for 10 MV X-rays in the presence of magnetic fields. The EGS4 Monte Carlo code was applied and modified to take account of the effect of electron deflection under magnetic field was used. We defined and tested DI (dose improvement) and DR (dose reduction) to describe variation of PDD curves under various magnetic fields. For a magnetic field of 3 T applied at the depth region of 5-10 cm and field size of 10${\times}$10 $\textrm{cm}^2$, the DI is 1.56 (56% improvement) and DR is 0.68 (32% reduction). We explained the results from the Lorentz law and the concept of electron equilibrium. We suggested that the dose optimization in radiotherapy can be achieved from using the characteristics of dose distributions under magnetic fields.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.253-260
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• 2010

Most brachytherapy treatment planning systems employ a dosimetry formalism based on the AAPM TG-43 report which does not appropriately consider tissue heterogeneity. In this study we aimed to set up a simple Monte Carlo-based intracavitary high-dose-rate brachytherapy (IC-HDRB) plan verification platform, focusing particularly on the robustness of the direct Monte Carlo dose calculation using material and density information derived from CT images. CT images of slab phantoms and a uterine cervical cancer patient were used for brachytherapy plans based on the Plato (Nucletron, Netherlands) brachytherapy planning system. Monte Carlo simulations were implemented using the parameters from the Plato system and compared with the EBT film dosimetry and conventional dose computations. EGSnrc based DOSXYZnrc code was used for Monte Carlo simulations. Each $^{192}Ir$ source of the afterloader was approximately modeled as a parallel-piped shape inside the converted CT data set whose voxel size was $2{\times}2{\times}2\;mm^3$. Bracytherapy dose calculations based on the TG-43 showed good agreement with the Monte Carlo results in a homogeneous media whose density was close to water, but there were significant errors in high-density materials. For a patient case, A and B point dose differences were less than 3%, while the mean dose discrepancy was as much as 5%. Conventional dose computation methods might underdose the targets by not accounting for the effects of high-density materials. The proposed platform was shown to be feasible and to have good dose calculation accuracy. One should be careful when confirming the plan using a conventional brachytherapy dose computation method, and moreover, an independent dose verification system as developed in this study might be helpful.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.21-26
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• 2007

This study is performed to evaluate the dose rate and to analyze the dose distribution of the gamma irradiation facility (IR-221) by using a Monte Calro simulation, which is helpful of upgrading the radiation processing qualification. Monte Cairo simulation is performed by MCNP4B code. Dose rates were measured at total 369 points with alanine dosimeters to compare the calculation results and the measurements data. The results have shown that the MCNP4B code is very useful to determine the dose distribution of the IR-221 gamma irradiation facility, as the calculation dose rate is within about ${\pm}5%$ of the measurement data. Dosimetry about the gamma irradiation facility usually needs enormous manpower and time. However Monte Cairo calculation method can reduce the tedious dosimetry jobs and improve the irradiation processing qualification, which will probably contribute to obtain the reliability of the irradiation products.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1997.10a
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• pp.115-120
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• 1997

영광3호기 방사선관리구역에 대한 중성자선량률을 정확히 평가하기 위하여 MCNP4A 전산코드를 이용, 방사선관리구역에서의 중성자 스펙트럼 계산을 수행하였다. 영광3호기에 대한 보다 정확하고 정밀한 3차원 몬테칼로 모델을 구축하기 위하여 핵연료집합체 구성요소 및 원자로심을 둘러싸고 있는 baffle, barrel,압력용기 등을 정확하게 묘사하였으며, 특히 방사선관리구역 주위의 구조물에 대해서도 3자원 MCNP 모델을 구축함으로써 원자로심부터 방사선관리구역까지 완전한 몬테칼로 모사(full-scope Monte Carlo simulation)를 이용한 계산을 수행하였다. 계산결과는 에너지 구간에 따른 중성자속 스펙트럼으로 나타내었으며 이 결과를 바탕으로 중성자속에 대한 선량률 환산인자를 고려하여 중성자선량률을 계산할 수 있다.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.93-99
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• 2001

Voxel head phantom for overcoming the limitation of mathematical phantom in depleting anatomical details was constructed and example dose calculation for BNCT was performed. The repeated structure algorithm of the general purpose Monte Carlo code, MCNP4B was applied for yokel Monte Carlo calculation. Simple binary yokel phantom and combinatorial geometry phantom composed of two materials were constructed for validating the voxel Monte Carlo calculation system. The tomographic images of VHP man provided by NLM(National Library of Medicine) were segmented and indexed to construct yokel head phantom. Comparison of doses for broad parallel gamma and neutron beams in AP and PA directions showed decrease of brain dose due to the attenuation of neutron in eye balls in case of yokel head phantom. The spherical tumor volume with diameter, 5cm was defined in the center of brain for BNCT dose calculation in which accurate 3 dimensional dose calculation is essential. As a result of BNCT dose calculation for downward neutron beam of 10keV and 40keV, the tumor dose is about doubled when boron concentration ratio between the tumor to the normal tissue is $30{\mu}g/g$ to $3{\mu}g/g$. This study established the voxel Monte Carlo calculation system and suggested the feasibility of precise dose calculation in therapeutic radiology.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.39-44
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• 2004

The energy distributions for clinically used electron beams from measured and calculated mono energetic depth dose values were calculated. The energy distributions having the minimum difference between the measured and reduced values of depth dose are determined by iterations based on least square method. The nominal energies of 6, 9, 12, 15 MeV clinical electron beams were examined. The Monte Carlo depth dose calculations with determined energy distributions were peformed to evaluate those distributions. In a comparison of the calculated and measured depth dose data, the standard errors are estimated within $\pm$ 3% from surface to R$_{80}$ depth and within $\pm$4% from the surface to near the range for all electron beams. This can be practically applied to determine the energy distributions for clinically used electron beams.