• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.429-436
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• 2022

Investigations of retrospective dosimetry have shown that components of mobile phones are suitable as emergency dosimeters in case of radiological incidents. For physical dosimetry, components can be read out using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), thermoluminescence (TL) and phototransferred thermoluminescence (PTTL) methods to determine the absorbed dose. This paper deals with a feasibility study of display glass from modern mobile phones that are measured by thermally assisted (Ta) optically stimulated luminescence. Violet (VSL, 405 nm) and infrared (IRSL, 850 nm) LEDs were used for optical stimulation and two protocols (Ta-VSL and Ta-IRSL) were tested. The aim was to systematically investigate the luminescence properties, compare the results to blue stimulated Ta-BSL protocol (458 nm) and to develop a robust measurement protocol for the usage as an emergency dosimeter after an incident with ionizing radiation. First, the native signals were measured to calculate the zero dose signal. Next, the reproducibility and dose response of the luminescence signals were analyzed. Finally, the signal stability was tested after the storage of irradiated samples at room temperature. In general, the developed Ta-IRSL and Ta-VSL protocols indicate usability, however, further research is needed to test the potential of a new protocol for physical retrospective dosimetry.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.7
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• pp.2599-2605
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• 2022

The Korea Retrospective Dosimetry network (KREDOS) performed an inter-laboratory comparison to confirm the harmonization and reliability of the results of retrospective dosimetry using mobile phone. The mobile phones were exposed to ¹⁹²Ir while attached to the human phantoms in the field experiment, and the exposure doses read by each laboratory were compared. This paper describes the reference dosimetry performed to present the reference values for inter-comparison and to obtain additional information about the dose distribution. Reference dosimetry included both measurement using LiF:Mg,Cu,Si and calculation via MCNP simulation to allow a comparison of doses obtained with the two different methodologies. When irradiating the phones, LiF elements were attached to the phones and phantoms and irradiated at the same time. The comparison results for the front of the phantoms were in good agreement, with an average relative difference of about 10%, while an average of about 16% relative difference occurred for the back and side of the phantom. The differences were attributed to the different characteristics of the physical and simulated phantoms, such as anatomical structure and constituent materials. Nevertheless, there was about 4% of under-estimation compared to measurements in the overall linear fitting, indicating the calculations were well matched to the measurements.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.270-277
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• 2023

Exposure to ionizing radiation induces free radicals in human nails. These free radicals generate a radiation-induced signal (RIS) in electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Compared with the RIS of tooth enamel samples, that in human nails is more affected by moisture and heat, but has the advantages of being sensitive to radiation and easy to collect. The fingernail as a biological sample is applicable in retrospective dosimetry in cases of localized hand exposure accidents. In this study, the dosimetric characteristics of fingernails were analyzed in fingernail clippings collected from Korean donors. The dose response, fading of radiation-induced and mechanically induced signals, treatment method for evaluation of background signal, minimum detectable dose, and minimum detectable mass were investigated to propose a fingernail-EPR dosimetry protocol. In addition, to validate the practicality of the protocol, blind and field experiments were performed in the laboratory and a non-destructive testing facility. The relative biases in the dose assessment result of the blind and field experiments were 8.43% and 21.68% on average between the reference and reconstructed doses. The results of this study suggest that fingernail-EPR dosimetry can be a useful method for the application of retrospective dosimetry in cases of radiological accidents.

• 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.50 no.3
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• pp.526-530
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• 2018

Human fingernails were used to estimate the radiation dose via electron paramagnetic resonance measurements of radiation-induced radicals. The limiting factors in this research were mechanically induced electron paramagnetic resonance signals due to the mechanical stress during the preparation of the samples. Therefore, different treatment methods of fingernails were used to reduce the mechanically induced signals. The results demonstrate that the mechanically induced and radiation-induced signals have apparently different microwave power saturation behaviors. In addition, the mechanically induced signal shows a fading evolution over time and reaches a constant value. Chemical treatment using the different reagents showed that the minimum mechanically induced signal was obtained using the dithiothreitol reagent. The dose-response curves of the samples treated with dithiothreitol for 30 minutes demonstrated a greater linearity than those of samples treated for 5 minutes. Therefore, to find an unknown absorbed dose in a fingernail sample using a calibration curve, we recommend adopting the mentioned chemical treatment procedure to reduce the uncertainty.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.108-115
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• 2022

Background: This study was aimed at comparing and analyzing the results of FractionLab (Varian/Mobius Medical System) with those of portal dosimetry that uses an electronic portal imaging device. Portal dosimetry is extensively used for patient-specific quality assurance (QA) in intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Methods: The study includes 29 patients who underwent IMRT on a Novalis-Tx linear accelerator (Varian Medical System and Brain-LAB) between June 2019 and March 2021. We analyzed the multileaf collimator DynaLog files generated after portal dosimetry to evaluate the same condition using FractionLab. The results of the recently launched FractionLab at various gamma indices (0.1%/0.1 mm-1%/1 mm) are analyzed and compared with those of portal dosimetry (3%/3 mm). Results: The average gamma passing rates of portal dosimetry (3%/3 mm) and FractionLab are 98.1% (95.5%-100%) and 97.5% (92.3%-99.7%) at 0.6%/0.6 mm, respectively. The results of portal dosimetry (3%/3 mm) are statistically comparable with the QA results of FractionLab (0.6%/0.6 mm-0.9%/0.9 mm). Conclusion: This paper presents the clinical performance of FractionLab by the comparison of the QA results of FractionLab using portal dosimetry with various gamma indexes when performing patient-specific QA in IMRT treatment. Further, the appropriate gamma index when performing patient-specific QA with FractionLab is provided.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.107-115
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical quality assurance results of portal dosimetry using an electronic portal imaging device, a method that is extensively used for patient-specific quality assurance, and the newly released Mobius3D for intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT). Methods: This retrospective study includes data from 122 patients who underwent IMRT and VMAT on the Novalis Tx and VitalBeam linear accelerators between April and June 2020. We used a paired t-test to compare portal dosimetry using an electronic portal imaging device and the average gamma passing rates of MobiusFX using log files regenerated after patient treatment. Results: The average gamma passing rates of portal dosimetry (3%/3 mm) and MobiusFX (5%/3 mm) were 99.43%±1.02% and 99.32%±1.87% in VitalBeam and 97.53%±3.34% and 96.45%±13.94% in Novalis Tx, respectively. Comparison of the gamma passing rate results of portal dosimetry (3%/3 mm) and MobiusFX (5%/3 mm as per the manufacturer's manual) does not show any statistically significant difference. Conclusions: Log file-based patient-specific quality assurance, including independent dose calculation, can be appropriately used in clinical practice as a second-check dosimetry, and it is considered comparable with primary quality assurance such as portal dosimetry.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.123-131
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• 2024

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) dosimetry for a tooth from an individual exposed is well known as retrospective dosimetry in radiological accidents. A major constraint of the conventional X-band tooth-EPR dosimetry is the necessity to extract the tooth of the exposed patient for dose assessment. In this study, to conduct the dose assessments of exposed patients through part-extraction of tooth enamel, the minimum detectable dose (MDD) of the tooth enamel was evaluated based on the amount of mass. Further, a field test was conducted via intercomparison using various dose assessment methods to verify the feasibility of X-band tooth-EPR dosimetry using the minimum mass of tooth enamel. The intercomparison results demonstrated that effective dose determination via X-band tooth-EPR dosimetry is reliable. Consequently, it was determined that the minimum mass of tooth enamel required to evaluate an absorbed dose above 0.5 Gy is 15 mg. Thus, EPR dosimetry using 15 mg of tooth enamel can be applied in the triage and initial medical response stages for patients exposed during radiological accidents. This approach represents an advancement in managing radiological accidents by offering a more efficient and less invasive method of dose assessment.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.626-637
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• 2001

A series of study on energy dependence in chemiluminescence dosimetry with sugar and sorbite produced in two different countries was carried out administering a dose of 5 Gy to the samples at six different mean photon energies of 30, 50, 80, 130, 662 and 1250 keV. The results revealed distinct energy dependence of chemiluminescence(CL) output of sugar and sorbite. Although the energy dependence, in general, could be fitted by a polynomial of (os E, with I being radiation energy, up to cubic term, we reached a conclusion that the adoption of a fitting function, $y_{R}$$^{=a}$.(1-e $^{-b.logE}$)$^{c}$ +d, deduced from theoretical energy response curve calculated as the ratio of the mass energy absorption of the samples of interest to the soft tissue is more reasonable and rational. Herecoefficients $y_{R}$ is CL intensity, and a, b, c and d are constants to be determined in the fitting process. Energy dependence of relative sensitivities of one sample to the other, discrepancy in sensitivities of the samples from the two countries, and prominent grain size effect in Sorbitol were also shown.shown.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.10
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• pp.2379-2386
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• 2020

This paper presents the results of the first intercomparison exercise performed by the Korea retrospective dosimetry (KREDOS) working group using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The intercomparison employed the alanine dosimeter, which is commonly used as the standard dosimeter in EPR methods. Four laboratories participated in the dose assessment of blind samples, and one laboratory carried out irradiation of blind samples. Two types of alanine dosimeters (Bruker and Magnettech) with different geometries were used. Both dosimeters were blindly irradiated at three dose levels (0.60, 2.70, and 8.00 Gy) and four samples per dose were distributed to the participating laboratories. Assessments of blind doses by the laboratories were performed using their own measurement protocols. One laboratory did not participate in the measurements of Magnettech alanine dosimeter samples. Intercomparison results were analyzed by calculating the relative bias, E_n value, and z-score. The results reported by participating laboratories were overall satisfactory for doses of 2.70 and 8.00 Gy but were considerably overestimated with a relative bias range of 10-95% for 0.60 Gy, which is lower than the minimum detectable dose (MDD) of the alanine dosimeter. After the first intercomparison, participating laboratories are working to improve their alanine-EPR dosimetry systems through continuous meetings and are preparing a second intercomparison exercise for other materials.