• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.96-102
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• 2014

Urine bioassay has been widely used for internal dosimetry due to simple process of sampling and measurement. In this paper, we participated in the NRIP (NIST Radiochemistry Intercomparison Program) hosted by US NIST to carry out a reliable performance test of urine bioassay and introduced the measurement method and results of NRIP-2013. In customary exercise with 60 days of reporting time, bioassay results of 12 radionuclides in the synthetic urine samples were acceptable based on the performance criteria of ANSI N13.30. In emergency preparedness exercise with 8 hours of reporting time, bioassay results of 9 radionuclides showed that differences ranged from -35% to 45%. However, we concluded that urine bioassay applied for emergency preparedness exercise would be applicable for rapid screening and estimation of internal exposure within a difference of ${\pm}45%$ in the event of radiological accidents.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.226-230
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• 2012

The gross alpha analysis of nasal smear samples for the radiation emergency and the additional follow-up steps were established. Cotton swab sticks using in local hospitals for nasal smear in Korea were used for the verification. The measurement results of standard samples spiked with certified reference source were well agreed within ${\pm}20%$ compared with reference values. The clearance ratio of smear samples conducted with wet smear condition showed higher value. To eliminate the quenching effect of liquid scintillation samples, dry of smear samples should be followed up before counting samples. Based on the measurement results, medical decision levels and internal dose assessment were established for the victims in the beginning of radiation emergency.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.205-211
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• 2022

This study aimed to provide basic data for 3D printing in the medical health field by developing upper wear fixation device (UWFD), an auxiliary device for shortening chest AP examination time on emergency room beds and non-contact with patients. The standard of hooks was modeled according to the bed frame using the Autodesk Fusion 360. It was printed with Form2 (Formlabs, Somerville, MA, USA), as SLA (stereo lithography apparatus) method, and was washed and hardened using Form Wash and Form Cure. The completed UWFD conducted an online survey on 4 items of stability, convenience, availability, preference and general characteristics. The total stability average was 3.93±0.80, the total convenience average was 3.93±0.68, the total availability average was 4.01±0.89, and the total preference average was 3.80±1.08. This study was significant in suggesting improvements in the general X-ray examination process in the emergency room by designing and making aids to easily fixing the patient's top to the frame of the emergency bed while meeting promptness and non-contact with the patient.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.83-90
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• 2017

Background: Different cases exist in the measurement of thyroid radiobioassays owing to the individual characteristics of the subjects, especially the potential variation in the counting efficiency. An In situ Object Counting System (ISOCS) was developed to perform an efficiency calibration based on the Monte Carlo calculation, as an alternative to conventional calibration methods. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the applicability of ISOCS to thyroid radiobioassays by comparison with a conventional thyroid monitoring system. Materials and Methods: The efficiency calibration of a portable high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector was performed using ISOCS software. In contrast, the conventional efficiency calibration, which needed a radioactive material, was applied to a scintillator-based thyroid monitor. Four radioiodine samples that contained $^{125}I$ and $^{131}I$ in both aqueous solution and gel forms were measured to evaluate radioactivity in the thyroid. ANSI/HPS N13.30 performance criteria, which included the relative bias, relative precision, and root-mean-squared error, were applied to evaluate the performance of the measurement system. Results and Discussion: The portable HPGe detector could measure both radioiodines with ISOCS but the thyroid monitor could not measure $^{125}I$ because of the limited energy resolution of the NaI(Tl) scintillator. The $^{131}I$ results from both detectors agreed to within 5% with the certified results. Moreover, the $^{125}I$ results from the portable HPGe detector agreed to within 10% with the certified results. All measurement results complied with the ANSI/HPS N13.30 performance criteria. Conclusion: The results of the intercomparison program indicated the feasibility of applying ISOCS software to direct thyroid radiobioassays. The portable HPGe detector with ISOCS software can provide the convenience of efficiency calibration and higher energy resolution for identifying photopeaks, compared with a conventional thyroid monitor with a NaI(Tl) scintillator. The application of ISOCS software in a radiation emergency can improve the response in terms of internal contamination monitoring.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.12
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• pp.4122-4129
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• 2021

The counting efficiencies obtained using anthropomorphic physical phantoms are generally used in whole-body counting measurements to determine the level of internal contamination in the body. Geometrical discrepancies between phantoms and measured individuals affect the counting efficiency, and thus, considering individual physical characteristics is crucial to improve the accuracy of activity estimates. In the present study, the counting efficiencies of whole-body counting measurements were calculated considering individual physical characteristics by employing Monte Carlo simulation for calibration. The NaI(Tl)-based stand-up and HPGe-based bed type commercial whole-body counters were used for calculating the counting efficiencies. The counting efficiencies were obtained from 19 computational phantoms representing various shapes and sizes of the measured individuals. The discrepancies in the counting efficiencies obtained using the computational and physical phantoms range from 2% to 33%, and the results indicate that the counting efficiency depends on the size of the measured individual. Taking into account the body size, the equations for estimating the counting efficiencies were derived from the relationship between the counting efficiencies and the body-build index of the subject. These equations can aid in minimizing the size dependency of the counting efficiency and provide more accurate measurements of internal contamination in whole-body counting measurements.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.2
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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.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.170-177
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• 2021

Background: The International Commission on Radiological Protection is preparing to provide reference dose coefficients for environmental radioiodine intake based on newly developed age-specific biokinetic models. However, the biokinetics of iodine has been reported to be strongly dependent on the dietary intake of stable iodine; for example, the thyroidal uptake of iodine may be substantially lower in iodine-rich regions than in iodine-deficient regions. Therefore, this study attempted to establish a system of age-specific thyroid dose estimation for South Koreans, whose daily iodine intakes are significantly higher than that of the world population. Materials and Methods: Korean age-specific biokinetic parameters and thyroid masses were derived based on the previously developed Korean adult model and the Korean anatomical reference data for adults, respectively. This study complied with the principles used in the development of age-specific biokinetic models for world population and used the ratios of baseline values for each age group relative to the value for adults to derive age-specific values. Results and Discussion: Biokinetic model predictions based on the Korean age-specific parameters showed significant differences in iodine behaviors in the body compared to those predicted using the model for the world population. In particular, the Korean age-specific thyroid dose coefficients for ¹²⁹I and ¹³¹I were considerably lower than those calculated for the world population (25%-76% of the values for the world population). Conclusion: These differences stress the need for Korean-specific internal dose assessments for infants and children, which can be achieved by using the data calculated in this study.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.295-303
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• 2023

Whole-body counters are widely used to assess internal contamination after a nuclear accident. However, it is difficult to determine radioiodine activity due to limitations in conventional calibration phantoms. Inhaled or ingested radioiodine is heterogeneously distributed in the human body, necessitating time-dependent biodistribution for the assessment of the internal contamination caused by the radioiodine intake. This study aims at calculating counting efficiencies considering the biodistribution of ¹³¹I in whole-body counting measurement. Monte Carlo simulations with computational human phantoms were performed to calculate the whole-body counting efficiency for a realistic radioiodine distribution after its intake. The biodistributions of ¹³¹I for different age groups were computed based on biokinetic models and applied to age- and gender-specific computational phantoms to estimate counting efficiency. After calculating the whole-body counting efficiencies, the efficiency correction factors were derived as the ratio of the counting efficiencies obtained by considering a heterogeneous biodistribution of ¹³¹I over time to those obtained using the BOMAB phantom assuming a homogeneous distribution. Based on the correction factors, the internal contamination caused by ¹³¹I can be assessed using whole-body counters. These correction factors can minimize the influence of the biodistribution of ¹³¹I in whole-body counting measurement and improve the accuracy of internal dose assessment.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.12
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• pp.4576-4582
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• 2023

The Korea retrospective dosimetry (KREDOS)-electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) group undertook an intercomparison investigation utilizing hydroxyapatite. This analysis involved four institutions: the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Dongnam Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Korean Association for Radiation Application, and Radiation Health Institute of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power. Following the irradiation of the hydroxyapatite sample, the recorded build-up was analyzed. To validate the reliability of the EPR dosimetry findings and enhance its operational performance, a hydroxyapatite dose-response curve was plotted and dosimetry was performed for a blind sample. The proficiency of each laboratory was assessed by employing an interlaboratory comparison methodology. This involved a comparative analysis of the measurement results by calculating the relative bias, z-score, and En value. The results submitted by the participating laboratories demonstrated satisfactory ratings for doses of 1.006, 3.999, and 6.993 Gy. Following the second intercomparison, efforts to optimize their hydroxyapatite-EPR dosimetry systems are underway in the participating laboratories. The current assessment of hydroxyapatite dose yielded the foundational data required to establish the parameters of dental dosimetry. In future, the third intercomparison experiment will be conducted for exploring other materials.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.8
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• pp.1826-1833
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• 2020

Administration of stable iodine has been considered a best measure to protect the thyroid from internal irradiation by radioiodine intake, and its efficacy on thyroid protection has been quantitatively evaluated in several simulation studies on the basis of simple iodine biokinetic models (i.e., three-compartment model). However, the new iodine biokinetic model adopted by the International Commission on Radiological Protection interprets and expresses the thyroid blocking phenomenon differently. Therefore, in this study, the new model was analyzed in terms of thyroid blocking and implemented to reassess the protective effects and to produce dosimetric data. The biokinetic model calculation was performed using computation modules developed by authors, and the results were compared with those of experimental data and prior simulation studies. The new model predicted protective effects that were generally consistent with those of experimental data, except for those in the range of stable iodine administration -72 h before radioiodine exposure. Additionally, the dosimetric data calculated in this study demonstrates a critical limitation of the three-compartment model in predicting bioassay functions, and indicated that dose assessment 1 d after exposure would result in a similar dose estimate irrespective of the administration time of stable iodine.