• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.223-228
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• 2015

Double-focused micro-Multileaf Collimator (${\mu}MLC$) is able to create radiation fields having sharper dose gradients at the field edges than common MLC. Therefore, ${\mu}MLC$ has been used for the stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and Stereotactic Radiotherapy (SRT). We evaluated the dosimetric characteristics of a doublefocused Dynamic-${\mu}MLC$ (DMLC) attached to the Elekta Synergy linear accelerator. For this study, the dosimetric parameters including, Percent Depth Dose (PDD), Leaf leakage and penumbra, have been measured by using of the radiochromic films (GafChromic EBT2), EDGE diode detector and three-dimensional water phantom. All datas were measured on 6 MV x-ray. As a result, The DMLC shows transmission below to 1% and because of double-focused construction of the DMLC, the penumbras of fields with DMLC are independent from the field sizes. In this paper, the resulting dosimetric evaluations proved the applicability of the DMLC attached to the Elekta Synergy linear accelerator.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.86-92
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• 2011

This study used the optically stimulated luminescence dosimeters (OSLDs), recently, received the revaluation of usefulness in vivo dosimetry, and the diode detecters to measure the skin dose of patient with the rectal cancer. The measurements of dose delivered were compared with the planned dose from the treatment planning system (TPS). We evaluated the clinical application of OSDs in radiotherapy. We measured the calibration factor of OSLDs and used the percent depth dose to verified, also, we created the three point of surface by ten patients of rectal cancer to measured. The calibration factors of OSLD was 1.17 for 6 MV X-ray and 1.28 for 10 MV X-ray, demonstrating the energy dependency of X-ray beams. Comparison of surface dose measurement using the OSLDs and diode detectors with the planned dose from the TPS, The skin dose of patient was increased 1.16 ~ 2.83% for diode detectors, 1.36 ~ 2.17% for OSLDs. Especially, the difference between planned dose and the delivery dose was increased in the perineum, a skin of intense flexure region, and the OSLDs as a result of close spacing of measuring a variate showed a steady dose verification than the diode detecters. Therefore, on behalf of the ionization chamber and diode detecters, OSLDs could be applied clinically in the verification of radiation dose error and in vivo dosimety. The research on the dose verification of the rectal cancer in the around perineal, a surface of intense flexure region, suggest continue to be.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.5019-5024
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• 2015

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the dosimetric and clinical feasibility of volumetric modulated arc based hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (RapidArc) treatment for large acoustic schwannoma (AS >10cc). Materials and Methods: Ten AS patients were immobilized using BrainLab mask. They were subject to multimodality imaging (magnetic resonance and computed tomography) to contour target and organs at risk (brainstem and cochlea). Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) based stereotactic plans were optimized in Eclipse (V11) treatment planning system (TPS) using progressive resolution optimizer-III and final dose calculations were performed using analytical anisotropic algorithm with 1.5 mm grid resolution. All AS presented in this study were treated with VMAT based HSRT to a total dose of 25Gy in 5 fractions (5fractions/week). VMAT plan contains 2-4 non-coplanar arcs. Treatment planning was performed to achieve at least 99% of PTV volume (D99) receives 100% of prescription dose (25Gy), while dose to OAR's were kept below the tolerance limits. Dose-volume histograms (DVH) were analyzed to assess plan quality. Treatments were delivered using upgraded 6 MV un-flattened photon beam (FFF) from Clinac-iX machine. Extensive pretreatment quality assurance measurements were carried out to report on quality of delivery. Point dosimetry was performed using three different detectors, which includes CC13 ion-chamber, Exradin A14 ion-chamber and Exradin W1 plastic scintillator detector (PSD) which have measuring volume of $0.13cm^3$, $0.009cm^3$ and $0.002cm^3$ respectively. Results: Average PTV volume of AS was 11.3cc (${\pm}4.8$), and located in eloquent areas. VMAT plans provided complete PTV coverage with average conformity index of 1.06 (${\pm}0.05$). OAR's dose were kept below tolerance limit recommend by American Association of Physicist in Medicine task group-101(brainstem $V_{0.5cc}$ < 23Gy, cochlea maximum < 25Gy and Optic pathway <25Gy). PSD resulted in superior dosimetric accuracy compared with other two detectors (p=0.021 for PSD.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.190-194
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• 2009

Gamma spectral results for macroalgae samples taken from the environment of Ulchin nuclear power plants in Korea (east coast), showed 766 keV peaks, which were identified as $^{95}Nb$ by several research institutes. After the enhancement of liquid radioactive waste disposal facility at Ulchin NPP site, the $^{95}Nb$ amount in the liquid radioactive waste outflow has drastically reduced, but the expected reduction in $^{95}Nb$ specific activity from environmental samples did not actually show up on gamma spectroscopy. Detailed re-investigation revealed that along with 766 keV peak, other peaks (63, 92 and 1001 keV) from $^{234}Th-^{234}mPa$ decay series were also detected on spectroscopy, and that the measured half lives of the four peaks were very close to known half life of $^{234}Th-^{234}mPa$ decay series, which is 24.1 day. The measured gamma yield ratios of 766 keV peak to 1001 peak were very close to known ratio 0.35 for $^{234}mPa$. It is concluded that 766 keV peaks on gamma spectroscopy of Ulchin NPP environmental samples were mainly from $^{234}mPa$, which is one of naturally occurring radionuclides.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.9-20
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• 1988

In order to quantify the contribution of cosmic-ray ionizing component to the dose given by natural background radiation, a series of measurement has been carried out using LiF TLDs for about one and a half years on quarterly basis. Three different types of LiF TLDs namely, chips and PTFE based disks of $^{7}LiF$, and the same disks of $^{6}LiF$ for identifying possible contribution of neutron component were used. Measurements were made by placing badge-incased TLDs in a lead castle of 10 to 15cm thick installed in a room on the third floor of a four-story building in CNU Daedeok campus for 5 cycles of 90 days. For comparison a series of spectrometric study was also performed for the energy region over 3MeV using a 3'${\phi}\;{\times}\;3$'NaI(Tl) scintillation detector in association with an MCA of 1024 channels, and it was found that the data obtained by the TLDs placed in the lead castle indicate 75% of the dose given by outdoor cosmic-ray component. The results obtained by the TLDs through correction for shielding loss show that the outdoor dose contribution of ionizing component of cosmic rays at this campus is $34.3{\pm}1.1nGy/h$ which satisfactorily agrees with that expected for our particular location of measurement.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.16-21
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• 2022

Background: Epidemiological observations such as mental retardation, physical deformities, etc., in children besides different types of cancer in the adult population of the Malwa region have been reported. The present study is designed to get insight into the role of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) in causing detrimental health effects observed in the general population of this region. Materials and Methods: Deep soil samples were collected from different locations in the Malwa region. Their activity concentrations were determined using low-level background gammaray spectrometry. High efficiency and high purity germanium detector capped in a lead-shielded chamber having a resolution of 1.8 keV at 1,173 keV and 2.0 keV at the 1,332 keV line of ⁶⁰Co was used in the present work. Data were evaluated with Genie-2000 software. Results and Discussion: Mean activity concentrations of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K in deep soil were found to be 101.3 Bq/kg, 65.8 Bq/kg, and 688.6 Bq/kg, respectively. The mean activity concentration of ²³⁸U was found to be three and half times higher than the global average prescribed by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). It was further observed that the activity concentration of ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K has a magnitude that is nearly one and half times higher than the global average prescribed by UNSCEAR. In addition, the radioisotope ¹³⁷Cs which is likely to have its origin in radiation fallout was also observed. It is postulated that the NORM present in high quantity in deep soil somehow get mobilized into the water aquifers used by the general population and thereby causing harmful health problems. Conclusion: It can be stated that the present work has been able to demonstrate the use of low background gamma-ray spectrometry to understand the role of NORM in causing health-related effects in a general population of the Malwa region of Punjab, India.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.405-410
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• 2022

In brachytherapy, a radiation source is inserted into the body to kill tumor tissue. Therefore, it is important to accurately measure the location of the source and the dose distribution. In this study, a dosimeter that can be used for brachytherapy was developed using CsPbBr₃ which is cheaper than the existing detector materials and has a simpler manufacturing process. The CsPbBr₃ dosimeter performance was evaluated by analyzing reproducibility, linearity, and distance dependence in ¹⁹²Ir source. As a result of reproducibility evaluation, the RSD was 1.36%, which satisfies the standard value of 1.5%. As a result of the linearity evaluation, the R² value was 0.9993, which satisfies the standard R² of 0.9990. The distance dependence evaluation showed a signal value that decreased exponentially as the distance increased. The evaluation results show that the CsPbBr₃ dosimeter satisfies the evaluation criteria and can be used as a brachytherapy quality assurance dosimeter.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.443-451
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• 2017

Mammography is commonly used for screening early breast cancer. However, mammographic images, which depend on the physical properties of breast components, are limited to provide information about whether a lesion is malignant or benign. Although a dual-energy subtraction technique decomposes a certain material from a mixture, it increases radiation dose and degrades the accuracy of material decomposition. In this study, we simulated a breast phantom using attenuation characteristics, and we proposed a technique to enable the accurate material decomposition by applying weighting factors for the dual-energy mammography based on a photon-counting detector using a Monte Carlo simulation tool. We also evaluated the contrast and noise of simulated breast images for validating the proposed technique. As a result, the contrast for a malignant tumor in the dual-energy weighted subtraction technique was 0.98 and 1.06 times similar than those in the general mammography and dual-energy subtraction techniques, respectively. However the contrast between malignant and benign tumors dramatically increased 13.54 times due to the low contrast of a benign tumor. Therefore, the proposed technique can increase the material decomposition accuracy for malignant tumor and improve the diagnostic accuracy of mammography.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 2013

Purpose: High-energy radiotherapy with 10 MV or higher develops photoneutron through photonuclear reaction. Photoneutron has higher radiation weighting factor than X-ray, thus low dose can greatly affect the human body. An accurate dosimetric calculation and consultation are needed. This study compared and analyzed the dose change of photoneutron in terms of space according to the size of photon beam energy and treatment methods. Materials and Methods: To measure the dose change of photoneutron by the size of photon beam energy, patients with the same therapy area were recruited and conventional plans with 10 MV and 15 MV were each made. To measure the difference between the two treatment methods, 10 MV conventional plan and 10 MV IMRT plan was made. A detector was placed at the point which was 100 cm away from the photon beam isocenter, which was placed in the center of $^3He$ proportional counter, and the photoneutron dose was measured. $^3He$ proportional counter was placed 50 cm longitudinally superior to and inferior to the couch with the central point as the standard to measure the dose change by position changes. A commercial program was used for dose change analysis. Results: The average integral dose by energy size was $220.27{\mu}Sv$ and $526.61{\mu}Sv$ in 10 MV and 15 MV conventional RT, respectively. The average dose increased 2.39 times in 15 MV conventional RT. The average photoneutron integral dose in conventional RT and IMRT with the same energy was $220.27{\mu}Sv$ and $308.27{\mu}Sv$ each; the dose in IMRT increased 1.40 times. The average photoneutron integral dose by measurement location resulted significantly higher in point 2 than 3 in conventional RT, 7.1% higher in 10 MV, and 3.0% higher in 15 MV. Conclusion: When high energy radiotherapy, it should consider energy selection, treatment method and patient position to reduce unnecessary dose by photoneutron. Also, the dose data of photoneutron needs to be systematized to find methods to apply computerization programs. This is considered to decrease secondary cancer probabilities and side effects due to radiation therapy and to minimize unnecessary dose for the patients.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.215-222
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• 2015

In this work, we performed a proof-of-concept experiment for phase-contrast x-ray imaging (PCXI) based on a single antiscatter grid and a polychromatic x-ray source. We established a table-top setup which consists of a focused-linear grid having a strip density of 200 lines/inch, a microfocus x-ray tube having a focal-spot size of about $5{\mu}m$, and a CMOS-type flat-panel detector having a pixel size of $48{\mu}m$. By using our prototype PCXI system and the Fourier demodulation technique, we successfully obtained attenuation, scattering, and differential phase-contrast images of improved visibility from the raw images of several selected samples at x-ray tube conditions of $90kV_p$ and 0.1 mAs. Further, fusion image (e.g., the attenuation+the scattering) may have an advantage in displaying details of the sample's structures that are not clearly visible in the conventional attenuation image. Our experimental results indicate that single-grid-based approach seems a useful method for PCXI with great simplicity and minimal requirements on the setup alignment.