• Progress in Medical Physics
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.165-171
• /
• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of collimator width on effective atomic number (EAN), relative electron density (RED), and stopping power ratio (SPR) measured by dual-layer dual-energy computed tomography (DL-DECT). Methods: CIRS electron density calibration phantoms with two different arrangements of material plugs were scanned by DL-DECT with two different collimator widths. The first phantom included two dense bone plugs, while the second excluded dense bone plugs. The collimator widths selected were 64 mm×0.625 mm for wider collimators and 16 mm×0.625 mm for narrow collimators. The scanning parameters were 120 kVp, 0.33 second gantry rotation, 3 mm slice thickness, B reconstruction filter, and spectral level 4. An image analysis portal system provided by a computed tomography (CT) manufacturer was used to derive the EAN and RED of the phantoms from the combination of low energy and high energy CT images. The EAN and RED were compared between the images scanned using the two different collimation widths. Results: The CT images with the wider collimation width generated more severe artifacts, particularly with high-density material (i.e., dense bone). RED and EAN for tissues (excluding lung and bones) with the wider collimation width showed significant relative differences compared to the theoretical value (4.5% for RED and 20.6% for EAN), while those with the narrow collimation width were closer to the theoretical value of each material (2.2% for EAN and 2.3% for RED). Scanning with narrow collimation width increased the accuracy of SPR estimation even with high-density bone plugs in the phantom. Conclusions: The effect of CT collimation width on EAN, RED, and SPR measured by DL-DECT was evaluated. In order to improve the accuracy of the measured EAN, RED, and SPR by DL-DECT, CT scanning should be performed using narrow collimation widths.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.51 no.8
• /
• pp.2005-2012
• /
• 2019

This work investigated the radiation attenuation characteristics of three series of tellurite glass systems with the following compositions: 30PbO-10ZnO-xTeO₂-(60-x)B₂O₃ where x = 10, 30, 40, 50 and 60 mol%, xBaO-xB₂O₃-(100-2x)TeO₂ with x = 15-40 mol% and 50ZnO-(50-x)P₂O₅-xTeO₂, where x = 0, 10, .40 mol%. The results revealed that the attenuation parameters in all the samples decrease with increase in the energy, which implied that all the samples have better interaction with gamma photons at low energies and thus higher photon attenuating efficiency. From the three systems, the samples coded as PbZnBTe60, BaBTe70 and ZnPTe40 have the lowest half value layer values and accordingly have superior photon attenuation efficacy. The maximum effective atomic number values were found for energy less than 0.1 MeV particularly near the K-edges absorption of the heavy atomic number elements such as Te, Ba and Pb. At the lowest energy, the Z_eff values are found in the range of 62.33-66.25, 49.43-50.81 and 24.99-35.83 for series 1-3 respectively. Also, we found that the density of the glass remarkably affects the photon attenuation ability of the selected glasses. The mean free path results showed that the PbO-ZnO-TeO₂-B₂O₃ glass system has better radiation shielding efficiency than the glass samples in series 2 and 3.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.45 no.4
• /
• pp.171-177
• /
• 2020

Background: This study aims to determine the effective atomic number (Zeff) from dual-energy image sets obtained using a conventional computed tomography (CT) simulator. The estimated Zeff can be used for deriving the stopping power and material decomposition of CT images, thereby improving dose calculations in radiation therapy. Materials and Methods: An electron-density phantom was scanned using Philips Brilliance CT Big Bore at 80 and 140 kVp. The estimated Zeff values were compared with those obtained using the calibration phantom by applying the Rutherford, Schneider, and Joshi methods. The fitting parameters were optimized using the nonlinear least squares regression algorithm. The fitting curve and mass attenuation data were obtained from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The fitting parameters obtained from stopping power and material decomposition of CT images, were validated by estimating the residual errors between the reference and calculated Zeff values. Next, the calculation accuracy of Zeff was evaluated by comparing the calculated values with the reference Zeff values of insert plugs. The exposure levels of patients under additional CT scanning at 80, 120, and 140 kVp were evaluated by measuring the weighted CT dose index (CTDIw). Results and Discussion: The residual errors of the fitting parameters were lower than 2%. The best and worst Zeff values were obtained using the Schneider and Joshi methods, respectively. The maximum differences between the reference and calculated values were 11.3% (for lung during inhalation), 4.7% (for adipose tissue), and 9.8% (for lung during inhalation) when applying the Rutherford, Schneider, and Joshi methods, respectively. Under dual-energy scanning (80 and 140 kVp), the patient exposure level was approximately twice that in general single-energy scanning (120 kVp). Conclusion: Zeff was calculated from two image sets scanned by conventional single-energy CT simulator. The results obtained using three different methods were compared. The Zeff calculation based on single-energy exhibited appropriate feasibility.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
• /
• 2005.10a
• /
• pp.763-764
• /
• 2005

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.50 no.6
• /
• pp.944-949
• /
• 2018

The mass attenuation coefficients (${\mu}/{\rho}$) of food waste samples (pomegranate peel, acorn cap, lemon peel, mandarin peel, pumpkin peel, grape peel, orange peel, pineapple peel, acorn peel and grape stalk) have been measured employing a Si(Li) detector at 13.92, 17.75, 20.78, 26.34 and 59.54 keV. Also, the theoretical values of the mass attenuation coefficients have been evaluated utilizing mixture rule from WinXCOM program. The results showed that the lemon peel has the highest values of ${\mu}/{\rho}$ among the selected samples. From the obtained mass attenuation coefficients, we determined some absorption parameters such as effective atomic number ($Z_{eff}$), electron density ($N_E$) and molar extinction coefficient (${\varepsilon}$). It was found that the $Z_{eff}$ values of all food wastes lie within the range of 4.034-7.595, whereas the $N_E$ of the studied food wastes was found to be in the range of $0.301-1.720{\times}10^{25}$ (electrons/g) for present energy region.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.50 no.8
• /
• pp.1364-1371
• /
• 2018

An extensive investigation of photon interaction properties has been made for $Zn_xTe_{100-x}$ alloys (where x = 5, 20, 30, 40, 50) to explore its possible use in sensing and shielding gamma radiations. The results show better and stable response of ZnTe alloys for various photon interaction properties over the wide energy range, with an additional benefit of ease in fabrication due to lower melting points of Zn and Te. Mass attenuation coefficient values show strong dependence on photon energy as well as composition. Effective atomic number has maximum value for $Zn_5Te_{95}$ and lowest for $Zn_{50}Te_{50}$ in the entire energy region. The alloy sample with maximum $Z_{eff}$ shows minimal value of $N_e$ and vice versa. Mean free path follows inverse trend as observed for mass attenuation coefficient. The exposure and energy absorption buildup factors depend upon photon energy, penetration thickness and composition (effective atomic number) of $Zn_xTe_{100-x}$ alloys. It finds its application for sensing and shielding from highly energetic and highly penetrating photons at sites where radioactive materials were used and visibility of material is not a big constraint. Further, energy down conversion property of ZnTe alloys with subsequent emission in green band suggests its potential use in sensing gamma photons.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.460-465
• /
• 2004

Hydrofluoric acid has been used as a novel stripping agent for molybdenum(VI) after its extraction with Cyanex 301. In the extraction step, the effects of parameters such as type and initial concentration of acid, type of diluent, extractant concentration, metal concentration and temperature have been studied. In the stripping step, the effects of various stripping agents on stripping efficiency have been investigated. Hydrofluoric acid has been chosen as an effective stripping agent, and the effects of concentration of hydrofluoric acid, stripping time, volume of hydrofluoric acid and the number of stages of stripping have been studied. Molybdenum(VI) has been effectively separated from a large number of elements in binary mixtures, with a very high tolerance limit. Finally, the optimized method has been extended for the analysis of Mo(VI) in spent molybdenum catalysts.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.48 no.5
• /
• pp.1230-1236
• /
• 2016

This study aims to determine the effect of fly ash with a high replacing ratio of clay on the radiation shielding properties of bricks. Some interaction parameters (mass attenuation coefficients, half value layer, effective atomic number, effective electron density, and absorption efficiency) of clay fly ash bricks were measured with a NaI(Tl) detector at 661.6 keV, 1,173.2 keV, and 1,332.5 keV. For the investigation of their shielding behavior, fly ash bricks were molded using an admixture to clay. A narrow beam transmission geometry condition was used for the measurements. The measured values of these parameters were found in good agreement with the theoretical calculations. The elemental compositions of the clay fly ash bricks were analyzed by using an energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. At selected energies the values of the effective atomic numbers and effective electron densities showed a very modest variation with the composition of the fly ash. This seems to be due to the similarity of their elemental compositions. The obtained results were also compared with concrete, in order to study the effect of fly ash content on the radiation shielding properties of clay fly ash bricks. The clay fly ash bricks showed good shielding properties for moderate energy gamma rays. Therefore, these bricks are feasible and eco-friendly compared with traditional clay bricks used for construction.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.52 no.3
• /
• pp.461-468
• /
• 2020

The improvements of the DeCART/MUSAD code system for uncertainty analysis of HTGR neutronic parameters are presented in this paper. The function for quantifying an uncertainty of critical-spectrumweighted few group cross section was implemented using the generalized adjoint B₁ equation solver. Though the changes between the infinite and critical spectra cause a considerable difference in the contribution by the graphite scattering cross section, it does not significantly affect the total uncertainty. To reduce the number of iterations of the generalized adjoint transport equation solver, the generalized adjoint B₁ solution was used as the initial value for it and the number of iterations decreased to 50%. To reflect the implicit uncertainty, the correction factor was derived with the resonance integral. Moreover, an additional correction factor for the double heterogeneity was derived with the effective cross section of the DH region and it reduces the difference from the complete uncertainty. The code system was examined with the MHTGR-350 Ex.II-2 3D core benchmark. The k_eff uncertainty for Ex.II-2a with only the fresh fuel block was similar to that of the block and the uncertainty for Ex.II-2b with the fresh fuel and the burnt fuel blocks was smaller than that of the fresh fuel block.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.58-65
• /
• 2006

Since the development of sophisticated molecular carriers such as octereotides for peptide receptor targeting and monoclonal antibodies against various antigens associated with specific tumor types, radionuclide therapy (RNT) employing open sources of therapeutic agents is promising modality for treatment of tumors. furthermore, the emerging of new therapeutic regimes and new approaches for tumor treatment using radionuclide are anticipated in near future. In targeted radiotherapy using peptides and other receptor based tarrier molecules, the use of radionuclide with high specific activity in formulating the radiopharmaceutical is essential in order to deliver sufficient number of radionuclides to the target site without saturating the target. In order to develop effective radiopharmaceuticals for therapeutic applications, it is crucial to carefully consider the choice of appropriate radionuclides as well as the tarrier moiety with suitable pharmacokinetic properties that could result in good in vivo localization and desired excretion. Up to date, only a limited number of radionuclides have been applied in radiopharmaceutical development due to the constraints in compliance with their physical half-life, decay characteristics, cost and availability in therapeutic applications. In this review article, we intend to provide with the improved understanding of the factors of importance of appropriate radionuclide for therapy with respect to their physical properties and therapeutic applications.