• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제47권3호
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• pp.143-151
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• 2022

Background: After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, biological alterations in the natural biota, including morphological changes of fir trees in forests surrounding the power plant, have been reported. Focusing on the terminal buds involved in the morphological formation of fir trees, this study developed a method for estimating the absorbed radiation dose rate using radionuclide distribution measurements from tree organs. Materials and Methods: A phantom composed of three-dimensional (3D) tree organs was constructed for the three upper whorls of the fir tree. A terminal bud was evaluated using Monte Carlo simulations for the absorbed dose rate of radionuclides in the tree organs of the whorls. Evaluation of the absorbed dose targeted ¹³¹I, ¹³⁴Cs, and ¹³⁷Cs, the main radionuclides subsequent to the FDNPP accident. The dose contribution from each tree organ was calculated separately using dose coefficients (DC), which express the ratio between the average activity concentration of a radionuclide in each tree organ and the dose rate at the terminal bud. Results and Discussion: The dose estimation indicated that the radionuclides in the terminal bud and bud scale contributed to the absorbed dose rate mainly by beta rays, whereas those in 1-year-old trunk/branches and leaves were contributed by gamma rays. However, the dose contribution from radionuclides in the lower trunk/branches and leaves was negligible. Conclusion: The fir tree model provides organ-specific DC values, which are satisfactory for the practical calculation of the absorbed dose rate of radiation from inside the tree. These calculations are based on the measurement of radionuclide concentrations in tree organs on the 1-year-old leader shoots of fir trees. With the addition of direct gamma ray measurements of the absorbed dose rate from the tree environment, the total absorbed dose rate was estimated in the terminal bud of fir trees in contaminated forests.

• 전자공학회논문지
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• 제53권12호
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• pp.147-151
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• 2016

Standing Whole Spine 검사는 많은 병원에서 자동노출제어장치 (automatic exposure control, AEC)를 사용하고 있어 체질량지수 (body mass index, BMI)에 따라 방사선량이 조절되는 특징이 있으며, 이를 통하여 환자 별 측정 DAP (dose area product) 값을 얻을 수 있다. 하지만, 검사 시 장기의 위치에 따른 흡수선량에 관한 연구는 크게 이루어지지 않고 있으며, 이에 본 연구에서는 Standing Whole Spine 검사 시 환자의 두께정보를 대표하는 BMI와 장기의 위치에 따른 흡수선량의 분포를 평가하고자 한다. 연구의 목적을 위하여 측정된 DAP값을 이용하여 PCXMC에서 환자의 5곳의 장기를 선정 (갑상샘, 유방, 심장, 콩팥, 이자)하여 선량을 계산하였다. 결과적으로, 측정된 DAP값은 BMI에 따라 증가하는 경향을 보였지만 전방 장기인 갑상샘, 유방, 그리고 심장에서는 BMI에 따라 장기선량이 감소하는 경향을 보였다. 또한 후방장기인 콩팥과 이자에서는 BMI와 아무런 상관관계를 가지지 않았다. 결론적으로, 본 연구결과를 통하여 Standing Whole Spine 검사 시 BMI와 장기의 위치에 따라 방사선의 영향이 다르게 나타남을 증명하였다.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제47권3호
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• pp.158-166
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• 2022

Background: The effects of radiation on the health of radiation workers who are constantly susceptible to occupational exposure must be assessed based on an accurate and reliable reconstruction of organ-absorbed doses that can be calculated using personal dosimeter readings measured as H_p(10) and dose conversion coefficients. However, the data used in the dose reconstruction contain significant biases arising from the lack of reality and could result in an inaccurate measure of organ-absorbed doses. Therefore, this study quantified the biases involved in organ dose reconstruction and calculated the bias-corrected H_p(10)-to-organ-absorbed dose coefficients for the use in epidemiological studies of Korean radiation workers. Materials and Methods: Two major biases were considered: (a) the bias in H_p(10) arising from the difference between the dosimeter calibration geometry and the actual exposure geometry, and (b) the bias in air kerma-to-H_p(10) conversion coefficients resulting from geometric differences between the human body and slab phantom. The biases were quantified by implementing personal dosimeters on the slab and human phantoms coupled with a Monte Carlo method and considered to calculate the bias-corrected H_p(10)-to-organ-absorbed dose conversion coefficients. Results and Discussion: The bias in H_p(10) was significant for large incident angles and low energies (e.g., 0.32 for right lateral at 218 keV), whereas the bias in dose coefficients was significant for the posteroanterior (PA) geometry only (e.g., 0.79 at 218 keV). The bias-corrected H_p(10)-to-organ-absorbed dose conversion coefficients derived in this study were up to 3.09- fold greater than those from the International Commission on Radiological Protection publications without considering the biases. Conclusion: The obtained results will aid future studies in assessing the health effects of occupational exposure of Korean radiation workers. The bias-corrected dose coefficients of this study can be used to calculate organ doses for Korean radiation workers based on personal dose records.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권2호
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• pp.725-733
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• 2023

The Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences has started a radiation epidemiological study, titled "Korean Radiation Worker Study," to evaluate the health effects of occupational exposure to radiation. As a part of this study, we investigated the methodologies and results of reconstructing organ-specific absorbed doses based on personal dose equivalent, H_p(10), reported from 1984 to 2019 for 20,605 Korean radiation workers. For the organ dose reconstruction, representative exposure scenarios (i.e., radiation energy and exposure geometry) were first determined according to occupational groups, and dose coefficients for converting H_p(10) to organ absorbed doses were then appropriately taken based on the exposure scenarios. Individual annual doses and individual cumulative doses were reconstructed for 27 organs, and the highest values were observed in the thyroid doses (on average 0.77 mGy/y and 10.47 mGy, respectively). Mean values of individual cumulative absorbed doses for the red bone marrow, colon, and lungs were 7.83, 8.78, and 8.43 mSv, respectively. Most of the organ doses were maximum for industrial radiographers, followed by nuclear power plant workers, medical workers, and other facility workers. The organ dose database established in this study will be utilized for organ-specific risk estimation in the Korean Radiation Worker Study.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권1호
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• pp.248-253
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• 2023

Directly, it is not possible to measure the absorbed dose of radiopharmaceuticals in the organs of the human body. Therefore, simulation methods are utilized to estimate the dose in distinct organs. In this study, individual organs were separately considered as the source organ or target organ to calculate the mean absorption dose, which SAF and S factors were then calculated according to the target uptake via MIRD method. Here, ^99mTc activity distribution within the target was analyzed using the definition and simulation of ideal organs by summing the fraction of cumulative activities of the heart as source organ. Thus, GATE code was utilized to simulate the Zubal humanoid phantom. To validate the outcomes in comparison to the similar results reported, the accumulation of activity in the main organs of the body was calculated at the moment of injection and cardiac rest condition after 60 min of injection. The results showed the highest dose absorbed into pancreas was about 21%, then gallbladder 18%, kidney 16%, spleen 15%, heart 8%, liver 8%, thyroid 7%, lungs 5% and brain 2%, respectively, after 1 h of injection. This distinct simulation model may also be used for different periods after injection and modifying the prescribed dose.

• 대한방사선기술학회지:방사선기술과학
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• 제40권3호
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• pp.355-361
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• 2017

소아는 성인보다 장기의 방사선에 대한 감수성이 크고 성장 중이기 때문에 더 민감하다. 피폭으로 인한 부작용을 겪는 기대수명이 길기 때문에 피폭선량의 관리가 어른의 경우보다 중요하게 다뤄진다. 본 연구는 10세 팬텀을 사용하여 현재 우리나라에 권고되어 있는 5세 소아의 촬영기준과 입사표면선량의 적합성을 확인하고 추가적으로 제시된 촬영기준으로 장기흡수선량을 측정해보았다. 임상에서 사용 중인 5세와 10세의 촬영조건과 장기흡수선량, 입사표면선량을 비교하였다. 임상 5세 촬영조건이 권고촬영조건보다 약간 높으며 임상 10세 촬영조건은 많이 높게 나타났다. 또한 권고 촬영조건으로 ESD를 측정한 결과 임상 촬영조건의 ESD가 43% 높게 나타났으며 10세의 ESD는 5세의 권고 촬영조건의 ESD 보다 126% 증가를 나타냈다. 5세의 권고된 ESD와 임상 촬영조건에 의한 ESD를 비교한 결과 31.6%의 차이를 나타냈다. 5세의 권고 촬영조건과 임상 촬영조건에 의한 장기흡수선량은 큰 차이는 없으나 흉부와 골반검사에서는 차이가 컸다. 그러나 10세의 임상 촬영조건에 의한 장기흡수선량을 비교하면 월등한 차이가 있었음을 알 수 있었다. 따라서 소아의 권고 선량에 대한 더욱 세분화된 기준안이 연구되어야 할 것으로 사료된다.

• 대한치과의사협회지
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• 제58권7호
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• pp.388-397
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• 2020

Objective: The purpose of the study was to calculate the effective and absorbed organ doses of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) in pediatric patient using personal computer-based Monte Carlo (PCXMC) software and to compare them with those measured using thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and anthropomorphic phantom. Materials and Methods: Alphard VEGA CBCT scanner was used for this study. A large field of view (FOV) (20.0 cm × 17.9 cm) was selected because it is a commonly used FOV for orthodontic analyses in pediatric patients. Ionization chamber of dose-area product (DAP) meter was located at the tube side of CBCT scanner. With the clinical exposure settings for a 10-year-old patient, DAP value was measured at the scout and main projection of CBCT. Effective and absorbed organ doses of CBCT at scout and main projection were calculated using PCXMC and PCXMCRotation software respectively. Effective dose and absorbed organ doses were compared with those obtained by TLDs and a 10-year-old child anthropomorphic phantom at the same exposure settings. Results: The effective dose of CBCT calculated by PCXMC software was 292.6 μSv, and that measured using TLD and anthropomorphic phantom was 292.5 μSv. The absorbed doses at the organs largely contributing to effective dose showed the small differences between two methods within the range from -18% to 20%. Conclusion: PCXMC software might be used as an alternative to the TLD measurement method for the effective and absorbed organ dose estimation in CBCT of large FOV in pediatric patients.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제46권4호
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• pp.151-159
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• 2021

Background: Computed tomography (CT) is one of the crucial diagnostic tools in modern medicine. However, careful monitoring of radiation dose for CT patients is essential since the procedure involves ionizing radiation, a known carcinogen. Materials and Methods: The most desirable CT dose descriptor for risk analysis is the organ absorbed dose. A variety of CT organ dose calculators currently available were reviewed in this article. Results and Discussion: Key common elements included in CT dose calculators were discussed and compared, such as computational human phantoms, CT scanner models, organ dose database, effective dose calculation methods, tube current modulation modeling, and user interface platforms. Conclusion: It is envisioned that more research needs to be conducted to more accurately map CT coverage on computational human phantoms, to automatically segment organs and tissues for patient-specific dose calculations, and to accurately estimate radiation dose in the cone beam computed tomography process during image-guided radiation therapy.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권2호
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• pp.681-688
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• 2022

Dose monitoring in CT patients requires accurate dose estimation but most of the CT dose calculation tools are based on Caucasian computational phantoms. We established a library of organ dose conversion coefficients for Korean adults by using four Korean adult male and two female voxel phantoms combined with Monte Carlo simulation techniques. We calculated organ dose conversion coefficients for head, chest, abdomen and pelvis, and chest-abdomen-pelvis scans, and compared the results with the existing data calculated from Caucasian phantoms. We derived representative organ doses for Korean adults using Korean CT dose surveys combined with the dose conversion coefficients. The organ dose conversion coefficients from the Korean adult phantoms were slightly greater than those of the ICRP reference phantoms: up to 13% for the brain doses in head scans and up to 10% for the dose to the small intestine wall in abdominal scans. We derived Korean representative doses to major organs in head, chest, and AP scans using mean CTDI_vol values extracted from the Korean nationwide surveys conducted in 2008 and 2017. The Korean-specific organ dose conversion coefficients should be useful to readily estimate organ absorbed doses for Korean adult male and female patients undergoing CT scans.

• 한국의학물리학회지:의학물리
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• 제27권2호
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• pp.86-92
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• 2016

디지털 팬텀을 사용한 선량평가 방법은 일반화된 장기에 대해서만 평가가 가능하여 종양에 대한 선량평가가 불가능하다. 이에 본 연구에서는 몸통 팬텀에 방사성동위원소를 주입하고 실제 측정된 CT 영상을 기반으로 장기와 종양에 대하여 몬테카를로 시뮬레이션을 이용하여 S-value를 계산함으로써 장기와 종양에 대한 흡수선량을 평가하고자 하였다. 몸통 팬텀은 폐, 간, 척추, 실린더로 구성되어 있으며 구 모형 팬텀을 이용하여 종양을 모사하였다. 방사성동위원소의 실제 선량 측정은 방사성동위원소 Cu-64 73.85 MBq 주입된 몸통 팬텀에 유리선량계(glass dosimeter)를 삽입하여 방사성동위원소의 선량을 측정하였다. 몬테카를로 시뮬레이션을 위한 몸통 팬텀의 각 영역 정보는 Cu-64가 주입된 몸통 팬텀을 이용하여 PET/CT 영상을 획득하고 CT영상의 해부학적 정보를 우선으로 평균값과 매뉴얼로 각 장기 및 종양을 영역별로 분할하여 제공하였다. 방사성동위원소의 영역별 잔류시간은 PET 영상에서 분할된 영역을 기반으로 시간변화에 따라 Cu-64 방사능량을 측정하여 계산하였다. 각 영역의 S-value는 몬테카를로 시뮬레이션에 입력된 공간상의 좌표, 복셀 크기, 밀도정보를 사용하여 계산하였다. 흡수선량 평가는 몬테카를로 시뮬레이션을 이용하여 선량분포를 계산하였으며 각 영역별로 미치는 S-value와 잔류시간을 이용하여 계산하였다. 각 영역에서의 흡수선량은 간에서 4.52E-02 mGy/MBq, 종양1에서 4.61E-02 mGy/MBq, 그리고 종양2에서 5.98E-02 mGy/MBq으로 평가되었다. 유리선량계로 측정된 선량 값과 시뮬레이션을 통해 계산된 선량 값의 차이는 평균 12.3% 이내의 차이를 보였다. 본 연구결과는 다양한 크기와 위치에 대하여 영상기반 선량평가의 적용가능성을 제시하였다.