• Progress in Medical Physics
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.155-159
• /
• 2019

Radiological properties of newly introduced and existing 3-dimensional (3D) printing materials were evaluated by measuring their Hounsfield units (HUs) at varying infill densities. The six materials for 3D printing which consisted of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), a unique ABS plastic blend manufactured by Zortrax (ULTRAT), high impact polystyrene (HIPS), polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG), polylactic acid (PLA), and a thermoplastic polyester elastomer manufactured by Zortrax (FLEX) were used. We used computed tomography (CT) imaging to determine the HU values of each material, and thus assess its suitability for various applications in radiation oncology. We found that several material and infill density combinations resembled the HU values of fat, soft tissues, and lungs; however, none of the tested materials exhibited HU values similar to that of bone. These results will help researchers and clinicians develop more appropriate instruments for improving the quality of radiation therapy. Using optimized infill densities will help improve the quality of radiation therapy by producing customized instruments for each field of radiation therapy.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.58 no.12
• /
• pp.505-508
• /
• 2015

It is uncommon for pediatric patients with rhabdomyosarcoma to present with clinical and/or laboratory features of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). We report a case of metastatic alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma with severe bleeding because of DIC in a 13-year-old boy. He experienced persistent oozing at the site of a previous operation, gross hematuria, and massive epistaxis. Two weeks after initiating combination chemotherapy consisting of vincristine, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide, the patients' laboratory indications of DIC began to resolve. During this period, the patient received massive blood transfusion of a total of 311 units (26 units of red blood cells, 26 units of fresh frozen plasma, 74 units of platelet concentrates, 17 units of single donor platelets, and 168 units of cryoprecipitate), antithrombin-III and a synthetic protease inhibitor. Despite chemotherapy and radiation therapy, he died 1 year later because of disease progression. In children with metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma and massive DIC, prompt chemotherapy and aggressive supportive care is important to decrease malignancy-triggered procoagulant activities.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.175-183
• /
• 2005

Dose distribution of Korean radiation workers classified by occupational categories was analyzed. Statistics of the occupational radiation exposure(ORE) in 2002 of the radiation workers in diagnostic and dental radiology were obtained from the Korea Food and Drug Agency(KFDA) who maintains the database for individual radiation dose records. Corresponding statistics for the rest of radiation workers were obtained by processing the individual annual doses provided by the Korea Radioisotope Association(KRIA) after deletion of individual information. The ORE distribution was classified in term of 28 occupational categories, annual individual dose levels, age groups and gender of 52733 radiation workers as of the year of 2002. The total collective dose was 66.4 man-Sv and resulting average individual ORE was 1.26 mSv. Around 80% of the workers were exposed to minimal doses less than 1.2 mSv. However, it appeared that the recorded doses exceeded 20 mSv for 43 workers in the industrial radiography and for 147 workers in the field of radiology. Particularly, recorded doses of 23 workers in radiology exceeded the annual dose limits of 50 mSv, which is extraordinary when the working environment is considered. It is uncertain whether those doses are real or caused by careless placing of dosimeters in the imaging rooms while the X-ray units are in operation. No one in the workforce of 16 operating nuclear power plant units was exposed over 20 mSv in 2002. Number of workers was the largest in their 30's of age and the mean individual dose was the highest in their 20's. Women were around 20% of the radiation workers and their average dose was around one half of that of man workers.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.22 no.9
• /
• pp.1296-1300
• /
• 2012

The feasibility of using Deinococcus showing strong resistance to both desiccation and ionizing radiation as a dose indicator of gamma radiation exposure was evaluated. Three Deinococcus strains having different levels of radiation resistance, Deinococcus radiodurans (DRD), Deinococcus radiopugnans (DRP), and the DRD pprI mutant (DRM), were selected to develop an appropriate dose indicator for a broad range of exposures. DRD, DRP, and DRM cultures with different numbers of cells [${\sim}10^7$ to $10^3$ colony forming units (CFU)/$100{\mu}l$] were lyophilized and subjected to various doses of gamma radiation to determine a critical dose that inhibited bacterial growth completely. Finally, a combination of DRD at ${\sim}10^7$ and ${\sim}10^6$ CFU, DRP at ${\sim}10^5$ CFU, and DRM at ${\sim}10^4$ CFU successfully indicated exposure to 5, 10, 20, and 30 kGy of gamma radiation, respectively. This study shows the possibility of developing a qualitative indicator of radiation exposure using Deinococcus.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.243-253
• /
• 2021

In the dismantling process of a reactor coolant system (RCS) piping, a radiation protection plan should be established to minimize the radiation exposure doses of dismantling workers. Hence, it is necessary to estimate the individual effective dose in the RCS piping dismantling process when decommissioning a nuclear power plant. In this study, the radiation exposure doses of the dismantling workers at different positions was estimated using the MicroShield dose assessment program based on the NUREG/CR-1595 report. The individual effective dose, which is the sum of the effective dose to each tissue considering the working time, was used to estimate the radiation exposure dose. The estimations of the simulation results for all RCS piping dismantling tasks satisfied the dose limits prescribed by the ICRP-60 report. In dismantling the RCS piping of the Kori-1 or Wolsong-1 units in South Korea, the estimation and reduction method for the radiation exposure dose, and the simulated results of this study can be used to implement the radiation safety for optimal dismantling by providing information on the radiation exposure doses of the dismantling workers.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.129-138
• /
• 1995

High-energy and high-dose X-ray and electron beam have been used in radiation therapy after developing particle accelerators. It is recommended to irradiate patients exect real dose for improving therapy effectiveness by International Committee on Radiation Units and Measurement. The radiation detector for daily beam checks of medical accelerators is described. Using thirteen silicon diodes, we have designed the diode detector providing information about calibration, beam symmetry, flatness, stability variation according to radiation damage, time and general quality assurance for both photon and eletron beams. we also compared these measurement values with those of using ionization chamber, film and semiconductor dosimeter.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
• /
• v.42 no.1
• /
• pp.1-4
• /
• 2012

Purpose : Hand-held dental x-ray system is a self contained x-ray machine designed to perform intraoral radiography with one or two hands. The issue about its usage as general dental radiography is still in dispute. The aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between the amount of battery charge and the tube voltage in different handheld dental x-ray systems. Materials and Methods : Seven hand-held dental x-ray units were used for the study. Tube voltage was measured with Unfors ThinX RAD (Unfors Instruments AB, Billdal, Sweden) for 3 consecutive exposures at the different amount of battery charge of each unit. The average and the deviation percentage of measured kV from indicated kV of each unit were calculated. Results : Tube voltage of only 1 unit was 70 kV (indicated by manufacturer) and those of the others were 60 kV. Tube voltage deviation percentage from the indicated kV at the fully charged battery was from 2.5% to -5.5% and from -0.8% to -10.0% at the lowest charged battery. Conclusion : Tube voltages of all units decreased as the residual amount of the battery charge decreased. It is suggested that the performance test for hand-held x-ray system should be performed for the minimum residual charged battery as well as the full charged one. Persistent battery charging is suggested to maintain the proper tube voltage of the hand-held portable x-ray system.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.308-317
• /
• 1998

Ensuring occupational radiation exposure(ORE) as low as is reasonably achievable(ALARA) has been one of very important requirements in a nuclear power plant. It is well known that about 70 percent of occupational dose has incurred from maintenance jobs in the outage period. To reduce occupational dose effectively, the high-dose jobs in the outage period should be identified with their dose reduction potentials and methods. In this study, a PC-based ORE database program, INSTORE, is developed to evaluate ORE doses in individual jobs, and the ORE data of Kori Units 3 and 4 are assembled to the database. Based on customary job classification, radiation work is classified into 26 main jobs which comprise 61 detailed jobs, and occupational doses are assessed according to each detailed job. As a result, high-dose jobs are identified with dose reduction priority in terms of collective ORE dose. It is recommended that adeqaute dose reduction methods for these jobs should be prepared to improve their working conditions and procedures.

• Progress in Medical Physics
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.75-85
• /
• 1994

As we enter the 2000s, there are four nuclear power units of the pressurized heavy water reactor-type in the commercial operation at the Wolsung Nuclear Power Plant(NPP) site where a larger amount of tritium ($\^$3/H) is released inevitably to the site environment. This radioctive nuclide is easily distributed throghout our environment because of its ubiquitous form as tritiated water (HTO) and its persistence in the environment. Tritum has certain characterisitics that present unique challenges for beta radiation dosimety and health risk assesment. In this paper, therefore, a variety of matters on tritium are considered and reviewed in terms of its characteristics and sources, metabolism and dosimetry, microdosimetry, radiobiology, risk assessment, and transport and cycling in the environment, etc.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.54 no.6
• /
• pp.2198-2203
• /
• 2022

As robotics become more sophisticated, there are a growing number of generic systems being used for routine tasks in nuclear environments to reduce risk to radiation workers. The nuclear sector has called for more commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) devices and components to be used in preference to nuclear specific hardware, enabling robotic operations to become more affordable, reliable, and abundant. To ensure reliable operation in nuclear environments, particularly in high-gamma facilities, it is important to quantify the tolerance of electronic systems to ionizing radiation. To deliver their full potential to end-users, mobile robots require sophisticated autonomous behaviors and sensing, which requires significant computational power. A popular choice of computing system, used in low-cost mobile robots for nuclear environments, is the UP Core single board computer. This work presents estimates of the total ionizing dose that the UP Core running the Robot Operating System (ROS) can withstand, through gamma irradiation testing using a Co-60 source. The units were found to fail on average after 111.1 ± 5.5 Gy, due to faults in the on-board power management circuitry. Its small size and reasonable radiation tolerance make it a suitable candidate for robots in nuclear environments, with scope to use shielding to enhance operational lifetime.