• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.125-130
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• 2016

Dual energy computed tomography (DECT) is used to classify two materials and quantify the mass density of each material in the human body. An energy modulation filter based DECT could acquire two images, which are generated by the low- and high-energy photon spectra, in one scan, with one tube and detector. In the case of DECT using the energy modulation filter, the filter should perform the optimization process for the type of materials and thicknesses for generating two photon spectra. In this study, Geant4 Monte-Carlo simulation toolkit was used to execute the optimization process for determining the property of the energy modulation filter. In the process, various materials used for the energy modulation filter are copper (Cu, $8.96g/cm^3$), niobium (Nb, $8.57g/cm^3$), stannum (Sn, $7.31g/cm^3$), gold (Au, $19.32g/cm^3$), and lead (Pb, $11.34g/cm^3$). The thickness of the modulation filter varied from 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm. To evaluate the overlap region of the low- and high-energy spectrum, Geant4 Monte-Carlo simulation is used. The variation of the photon flux and the mean energy of photon spectrum that passes through the energy modulation filter are evaluated. In the primary photon spectrum of 80 kVp, the optimal modulation filter is a 0.1 mm lead filter that can acquire the same mean energy of 140 kVp photon spectrum. The lead filter of 0.1 mm based dual energy CBCT is required to increase the tube current 4.37 times than the original tube current owing to the 77.1% attenuation in the filter.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.257-261
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• 2004

A coded-aperture gamma camera was developed to increase the sensitivity of a pin hole camera made with a pixellated CsI(Tl) scintillator and a position-sensitive photomultiplier tube. The modified round-hole uniformly redundant array of pixel size $13{\times}11$ was chosen as a coded mask considering the detector spatial resolution. The performance of the coded-aperture camera was compared with the pin hole camera using various forms of Tc-99m source to see the improvement of signal-to-noise ratio or the improvement of the sensitivity. The image quality is much improved despite of a slight degradation of the spatial resolution. Though the camera and the test were made for low energy case, but the concept of the coded-aperture gamma camera could be effectively used for the radioactive environmental monitoring and other applications.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.32-44
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• 1995

I. 제 목 고에너지 X-선 소조사야의 선량분포 및 계측에 관한 연구 II. 연구의 목적 및 중요성 최근 수술이 어려운 뇌종양등에 대한 방사선수술법(Radiosurgery)이 관심의 대상이 되고 있다. 방사선수술법은 크게 나누어 200여개의 Co-60이 장착된 장치(Gamma Knife)를 이용하는 방법과, X-선치료기를 이용하는 방법은 몇개의 보조기구를 설치하면 가능한 매우 경제적인 방법이다. 따라서 Microtron을 이용한 방사선수술의 기초자료확보를 위하여 소조사야에 대한 선량과 선량분포의 측정 및 계산을 실시하였다. III. 연구의 내용 및 범위 Microtron으로부터 조사되는 6MV, 10MV, 21MV X-선의 지름 3cm이하 소조사야에 대한 정확한 선량 및 선량분포 자료를 확보하기 위해, 가. Microtron치료기와 보조장치등에 대한 정밀도 계측 및 평가 나. 보조 Collimator의 적당한 크기와 재료의 선택 및 설계, 제작. 다. 에너지와 조사야 크기 각각에 대한 여러측정장치(Ion chamber, Diode detector, TLD 및 Film등)를 이용한 선량 및 선량분포 측정. 라. 측정값들의 비교, 검토 및 측정된 자료에 의한 선량 및 선량분포의 계산을 수행했다. IV. 연구결과 및 활용에 대한 건의 본 연구에서 얻은 결과는 다음과 같다. 가. Microtron치료기와 보조장치등의 정확도의 허용 오차범위내에서 잘 일치하였다. 나. 보조 collimater adpator는 총 길이 24cm로 하였으며 재질로는 두랄미늄을 사용하였고, 보조 collimator는 low melting alloy를 사용하였으며 소조사야 크기의 정확도는 0.5mm이내에서 매우 잘 일치 하였다. 다. 방사선 수술법의 에너지 선택에 중요한 요소중의 하나인 penumbra는 6MV X-선에서 가장 적게 나타났으며 라. 소조사면에 대한 깊이-선량 백분율곡선은 모든 에너지에서 조사면이 작아질수록 표면으로 이동하는 경향을 보였다. 이상의 결과로부터 방사선 수술을 시행할 경우 수십억원에 이르는 장비의 도입이나 새로운 시설 없이 Microtron에서 조사되는 고에너지 X-선을 이용할 수 있을 것으로 사료된다. 또한 새로 구입한 측정기나 보조 Collimator를 이용하여 소조사야에 대한 선량측정기술을 습득함으로써 일반적인 소조사야의 방사선치료나 회전치료등에 활용할 수 있다.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.16-20
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• 2017

Background: The design of deuteron accelerator neutron source facilities requires reliable yield estimation of gamma-rays as well as neutrons from deuteron-induced reactions. We have so foar measured systematically double-differential thick target neutron yields (DDTTNYs) for carbon, aluminum, titanium, copper, niobium, and SUS304 targets. In the neutron data analysis, the events of gamma-rays taken simultaneously were treated as backgrounds. In the present work, we have re-analyzed the experimental data for a thick carbon target with particular attention to gamma-ray events. Materials and Methods: Double-differential thick target gamma-ray yields from carbon irradiated by 5 and 9 MeV deuterons were measured using an NE213 liquid organic scintillator at the Kyushu University Tandem accelerator Laboratory. The gamma-ray energy spectra were obtained by an unfolding method using FORIST code. The response functions of the NE213 detector were calculated by EGS5 incorporated in PHITS code. Results and Discussion: The measured gamma-ray spectra show some pronounced peaks corresponding to gamma-ray transitions between discrete levels in residual nuclei, and the measured angular distributions are almost isotropic for both the incident energies. Conclusion: PHITS calculations using INCL, GEM, and EBITEM models reproduce the spectral shapes and the angular distributions generally well, although they underestimate the absolute gamma-ray yields by about 20%.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.10
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• pp.2250-2261
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• 2020

Accurate localization of radioactive materials is crucial in homeland security and radiological emergencies. Coded-aperture gamma camera is an interesting solution for such applications and can be developed into portable real-time imaging devices. However, traditional reconstruction methods cannot effectively deal with signal-independent noise, thereby hindering low-noise real-time imaging. In this study, a novel reconstruction method with excellent noise-suppression capability based on a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) is proposed. A coded-aperture gamma camera based on pixel detector and coded-aperture mask was constructed, and the process of radioactive source imaging was simulated. Results showed that the MLP method performs better in noise suppression than the traditional correlation analysis method. When the Co-57 source with an activity of 1 MBq was at 289 different positions within the field of view which correspond to 289 different pixels in the reconstructed image, the average contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) obtained by the MLP method was 21.82, whereas that obtained by the correlation analysis method was 5.85. The variance in CNR of the MLP method is larger than that of correlation analysis, which means the MLP method has some instability in certain conditions.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.325-330
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• 2011

To predict the details of flow in industrial process unit, single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a promising technique. Recently, industrial SPECT based on medical system has developed by researchers of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) and Hanyang University. In the present study, to confirm the effect of the number of detectors on image quality, and determine the optimal number of detectors in industrial SPECT, industrial SPECT system with various geometries were evaluated by the Monte Carlo simulation. CsI(Tl) detectors ($12mm{\times}12mm{\times}20mm$) with collimators (the geometric resolution of collimator $R_g$ was 4 cm at the center of the 30 cm diameter cylindrical vessel object) were modeled in a hexagonal array, and the point sources of $^{99m}Tc$, $^{68}Ga$, and $^{137}Cs$ were simulated at the center of the cylindrical vessel object using the MCNPX code. Then, the reconstruction images of each geometry were reconstructed using the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm. In this study, the reciprocity theorem was used to improve computation time required for system matrix of the EM algorithm. The result shows that the resolution of the reconstructed image was significantly improved by increasing the number of detectors in industrial SPECT system and more than 60 detectors will be required for the resolution of the reconstructed image.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.1062-1070
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• 2022

In the present communication, pure and stable α-Bismuth Oxide (Bi₂O₃) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by low temperature solution combustion method using urea as a fuel and calcined at 500℃. The synthesized sample was characterized by using powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy. The PXRD pattern confirms the formation of mono-clinic, stable and low temperature phase α-Bi₂O₃. The direct optical energy band gap was estimated by using Wood and Tauc's relation which was found to be 2.81 eV. The characterized sample was studied for X-ray/gamma ray shielding properties in the energy range 0.081-1.332 MeV using NaI (Tl) detector and multi channel analyzer (MCA). The measured shielding parameters agrees well with the theory, whereas, slight deviation up to 20% is observed below 356 keV. This deviation is mainly due to the influence of atomic size of the target medium. Furthermore an accurate theory is necessary to explain the interaction of X-ray/gamma ray with the NPs.The present work opens new window to use this facile, economical, efficient, low temperature method to synthesize nanomaterials for X-ray/gamma ray shielding purpose.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.531-539
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• 2023

Self-absorption is the most important factor affecting the accuracy of gamma spectroscopy measurements in environmental samples. In particular, it is affected by other factors such as the chemical composition of the sample, geometric shape, thickness, density, atomic number, distance between the sample and detector, energy of the emitted gamma photon, and humidity coefficient or percentage in the sample. To test the calibration method, a 450 ml CRM standard source (9 nuclide) Marinelli beaker was used. Five soil samples among environmental samples were measured by density by applying the corrected values. Therefore, it can be seen that the self-absorption value is more effective for somewhat large and low photon energy. In the case of environmental samples, it was confirmed that the overall energy peak efficiency through self-absorption of the source greatly depends on the density of the sample.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.204-212
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• 2023

Background: Isotopes of the projectile may be produced along the beam path during the irradiation of a target by a heavy ion due to inelastic interactions with the media. This study analyzed the production cross-section of carbon (C) and Helium (He) projectile's isotopes resulting from the interactions of these beams with different materials along the beam path. Materials and Methods: In this study, we transport C and He ion beams through different materials. This transportation was made by the Monte Carlo simulation. Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System (PHITS) has been used for this calculation. Results and Discussion: It has been found that ¹⁰C, ¹¹C, and ¹³C from the ¹²C ion beam and ³He from the ⁴He ion beam are significant projectile's isotopes that have higher flux than other isotopes of these projectiles. The ⁴He ion beam has a higher projectile's isotope production cross-section along the beam path, which adds more impurities to the beam than the ¹²C ion beam. These projectile's isotopes from both the ¹²C and ⁴He ion beams have higher production cross-sections in hydrogenous materials like water or polyethylene. Conclusion: It is important to distinguish these projectile's isotopes from the primary beam particles to obtain a precise and accurate cross-section result by minimizing the error during measurement with a nuclear track detector. This study will show the trend of the production probability of projectile's isotopes for these ion beams.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.131-143
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• 2023

Background: This study examined the detection limit of thyroid screening monitoring conducted at the time of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident in 2011 using a Monte Carlo simulation. Materials and Methods: We calculated the detection limit of a NaI(Tl) survey meter to measure ¹³¹I accumulation in the thyroid gland of children. Mathematical phantoms of 1- and 5-year-old children were developed in the simulation of the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System code. Contamination of the body surface with eight radionuclides found after the FDNPP accident was assumed to have been deposited on the neck and shoulder area. Results and Discussion: The detection limit was calculated as a function of ambient dose rate. In the case of 40 Bq/cm² contamination on the body surface of the neck, the present simulations showed that residual thyroid radioactivity corresponding to thyroid dose of 100 mSv can be detected within 21 days after intake at the ambient dose rate of 0.2 µSv/hr and within 11 days in the case of 2.0 µSv/hr. When a time constant of 10 seconds was used at the dose rate of 0.2 µSv/hr, the estimated survey meter output error was 5%. Evaluation of the effect of individual differences in the location of the thyroid gland confirmed that the measured value would decrease by approximately 6% for a height difference of ±1 cm and increase by approximately 65% for a depth of 1 cm. Conclusion: In the event of a nuclear disaster, simple measurements carried out using a NaI(Tl) scintillation survey meter remain effective for assessing ¹³¹I intake. However, it should be noted that the presence of short-half-life radioactive materials on the body surface affects the detection limit.