Assessment of total annual effective doses to representative person, for authorised and accidental releases from the Nuclear Medicine Department at Cattinara Hospital (Trieste, Italy).

PURPOSE: Clinical procedures in a Nuclear Medicine Department produce radioactive liquid and solid waste. Regarding waste release into the environment from an authorised hospital, it is mandatory to verify the compliance with European Directive 2013/59/EURATOM, adopted by the Italian Government via the Legislative Decree 101/2020. METHODS: Different activity release pathways into the environment from Trieste Nuclear Medicine Department have been analysed: liquid waste from patients' excreta discharged by sewage treatment system into the sea, and atmospheric releases following solid waste incineration. Reference models, provided by NCRP and IAEA guidelines, have been implemented to assess the impact of the discharged radioactivity for coastal waters and atmospheric transport conditions. Finally, an accidental fire event occurring in Radiopharmacy Laboratories has been simulated by HotSpot software. RESULTS: Advanced screening models give an effective dose to population of 5.3 · 10-3 µSv/y and 1.4 · 10-4 µSv/y for introduction by sewage system into coastal waters and atmospheric releases by the incinerator, respectively. Workers involved in the maintenance of the sewage treatment plant receive a total annual effective dose of 3.8 µSv/y, while for incinerator staff the total annual exposure is 5.9 · 10-8 µSv/y. For the accidental fire event the maximum total effective dose to an individual results 3.8 · 10-8 Sv with mild wind, and 4.1 · 10-7 Sv with strong wind. CONCLUSIONS: The total annual effective doses estimated to representative person, due to both Nuclear Medicine authorised clinical practices and in case of an accidental fire event, are in compliance with regulatory stipulations provided by Directives.

Neutron and photon out-of-field doses at cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) depths.

The accuracy of an out-of-field dose from an Elekta Synergy accelerator calculated using the X-ray Voxel Monte Carlo (XVMC) dose algorithm in the Monaco treatment planning system (TPS) for both low-energy (6 MV) and high-energy (15 MV) photons at cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) depths was investigated through a comparison between MCNPX simulated out-of-field doses and measured out-of-field doses using three high spatial and sensitive active detectors. In addition, total neutron equivalent dose and fluence at CIED depths of a 15-MV dose from an Elekta Synergy accelerator were calculated, and the corresponding CIED relative neutron damage was quantified. The results showed that for 6-MV photons, the XVMC dose algorithm in Monaco underestimated out-of-field doses in all off-axis distances (average errors: -17% at distances X < 10 cm from the field edge and -31% at distances between 10 < X ≤ 16 cm from the field edge), with an increasing magnitude of underestimation for high-energy (15 MV) photons (up to 11%). According to the results, an out-of-field photon dose at a shallower CIED depth of 1 cm was associated with greater statistical uncertainty in the dose estimate compared to a CIED depth of 2 cm and clinical depth of 10 cm. Our results showed that the relative neutron damage at a CIED depth range for 15 MV photon is 36% less than that reported for 18 MV photon in the literature.

A multicenter dosimetry study to evaluate the imaging dose from Elekta XVI and Varian OBI kV-CBCT systems to cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs).

The increasing use of daily CBCT in radiotherapy has raised concerns about the additional dose delivered to the patient, and it can also become a concern issue for those patients with cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) (Pacemaker [PM] and Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator [ICD]). Although guidelines highly recommend that the cumulative dose received by CIEDs should be kept as low as possible, and a safe threshold based on patient risk classification needs to be respected, this additional imaging dose is not usually considered. Four centers with different dosimetry systems and different CBCT imaging protocols participated in this multicenter study to investigate the imaging dose to the CIEDs from Elekta XVI and Varian OBI kV-CBCT systems. It was found that although imaging doses received by CIEDs outside the CBCT field are negligible, special attention should be paid to this value when CIEDs are inside the field because the daily use of CBCT can sometimes contribute considerably to the total dose received by a CIED.

Evaluation of localized region-based segmentation algorithms for CT-based delineation of organs at risk in radiotherapy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: In radiation therapy, defining the precise borders of cancerous tissues and adjacent normal organs has a significant effect on the therapy outcome. Deformable models offer a unique and robust approach to medical image segmentation. The objective of this study was to investigate the reliability of segmenting organs-at-risk (OARs) using three well-known local region-based level-set techniques. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A total of 1340 non-enhanced and enhanced planning computed tomography (CT) slices of eight OARs (the bladder, rectum, kidney, clavicle, humeral head, femoral head, spinal cord, and lung) were segmented by using local region-based active contour, local Chan-Vese, and local Gaussian distribution models. Quantitative metrics, namely Hausdorff Distance (HD), Mean Absolute Distance (MAD), Dice coefficient (DC), Percentage Volume Difference (PVD) and Absolute Volumetric Difference (AVD), were adopted to measure the correspondence between detected contours and the manual references drawn by experts. RESULTS: The results showed the feasibility of using local region-based active contour methods for defining six of the OARs (the bladder, kidney, clavicle, humeral head, spinal cord, and lung) when adequate intensity information is available. While the most accurate results were achieved for lung (DC = 0.94) and humeral head (DC = 0.92), a poor level of agreement (DC < 0.7) was obtained for both rectum and femur. CONCLUSION: Incorporating local statistical information in level set methods yields to satisfactory results of OARs delineation when adequate intensity information exists between the organs. However, the complexity of adjacent organs and the lack of distinct boundaries would result in a considerable segmentation error.

New simple and low-cost methods for periodic checks of Cyclone® Plus Storage Phosphor System.

The recent large use of the Cyclone® Plus Storage Phosphor System, especially in European countries, as imaging system for quantification of radiochemical purity of radiopharmaceuticals raised the problem of setting the periodic controls as required by European Legislation. We described simple, low-cost methods for Cyclone® Plus quality controls, which can be useful to evaluate the performance measurement of this imaging system.

Analytical functions for beta and gamma absorbed fractions of iodine-131 in spherical and ellipsoidal volumes.

BACKGROUND: The beta and gamma absorbed fractions in organs and tissues are the important key factors of radionuclide internal dosimetry based on Medical Internal Radiation Dose (MIRD) approach. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to find suitable analytical functions for beta and gamma absorbed fractions in spherical and ellipsoidal volumes with a uniform distribution of iodine-131 radionuclide. METHODS: MCNPX code has been used to calculate the energy absorption from beta and gamma rays of iodine-131 uniformly distributed inside different ellipsoids and spheres, and then the absorbed fractions have been evaluated. RESULTS: We have found the fit parameters of a suitable analytical function for the beta absorbed fraction, depending on a generalized radius for ellipsoid based on the radius of sphere, and a linear fit function for the gamma absorbed fraction. CONCLUSION: The analytical functions that we obtained from fitting process in Monte Carlo data can be used for obtaining the absorbed fractions of iodine-131 beta and gamma rays for any volume of the thyroid lobe. Moreover, our results for the spheres are in good agreement with the results of MIRD and other scientific literatures.

In vivo dosimetry and shielding disk alignment verification by EBT3 GAFCHROMIC film in breast IOERT treatment.

Intraoperative electron radiation therapy (IOERT) cannot usually benefit, as conventional external radiotherapy, from software systems of treatment planning based on computed tomography and from common dose verify procedures. For this reason, in vivo film dosimetry (IVFD) proves to be an effective methodology to evaluate the actual radiation dose delivered to the target. A practical method for IVFD during breast IOERT was carried out to improve information on the dose actually delivered to the tumor target and on the alignment of the shielding disk with respect to the electron beam. Two EBT3 GAFCHROMIC films have been positioned on the two sides of the shielding disk in order to obtain the dose maps at the target and beyond the disk. Moreover the postprocessing analysis of the dose distribution measured on the films provides a quantitative estimate of the misalignment between the collimator and the disk. EBT3 radiochromic films have been demonstrated to be suitable dosimeters for IVD due to their linear dose-optical density response in a narrow range around the prescribed dose, as well as their capability to be fixed to the shielding disk without giving any distortion in the dose distribution. Off-line analysis of the radiochromic film allowed absolute dose measurements and this is indeed a very important verification of the correct exposure to the target organ, as well as an estimate of the dose to the healthy tissue underlying the shielding. These dose maps allow surgeons and radiation oncologists to take advantage of qualitative and quantitative feedback for setting more accurate treatment strategies and further optimized procedures. The proper alignment using elastic bands has improved the absolute dose accuracy and the collimator disk alignment by more than 50%.

Indoor radon measurement and effective dose assessment of 150 apartments in Mashhad, Iran.

Environmental monitoring and indoor radon measurement are important for public health, to estimate the cancer risk of respiratory system and, if necessary, to suggest proper methods that reduce indoor radon level. In this research, indoor radon concentration in the air has been measured in 150 apartments in Mashhad city. The result demonstrates about 94.7% of apartments have radon concentration less than 100 Bq/m(3), taken by WHO as the action level, and 5.3% have the concentration higher than this level. As well as, annual radon dose has been assessed using the equation for annual effective dose calculation introduced by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation.

Calculation of energy deposition, photon and neutron production in proton therapy of thyroid gland using MCNPX.

In this study, the MCNPX code has been used to simulate a proton therapy in thyroid gland, in order to calculate the proton energy deposition in the target region. As well as, we have calculated the photon and neutron production spectra due to proton interactions with the tissue. We have considered all the layers of tissue, from the skin to the thyroid gland, and an incident high energy pencil proton beam. The results of the simulation show that the best proton energy interval, to cover completely the thyroid tissue, is from 42 to 54 MeV, assuming that the thyroid gland has a 14 mm thickness and is located 11.2mm under the skin surface. The most percentage of deposited energy (78%) is related to the 54 MeV proton energy beam. Total photon and neutron production are linear and polynomial second order functions of the proton energy, respectively.

Dosimetric evaluation of a 320 detector row CT scanner unit.

BACKGROUND: The technologic improvements in Multislice scanners include the increment in the X-ray beam width. Some new CT scanners are equipped with a 320 detector row which allows a longitudinal coverage of 160 mm and a total of 640 slices for a single rotation. When such parameters are used the length of the traditional pencil chamber (10 cm) is no more appropriate to measure the standard weighted computed tomography dose index (CTDI(w)) value. MATERIALS AND METHODS.: Dosimetric measurements were performed on a 640 slices Toshiba Aquilion One CT scanner using common instrumentation available in Medical Physics Departments. RESULTS: For the measurements in air, two different ionization chambers were completely exposed to the beam. Dosimeters showed an acceptable agreement in the measurements. To evaluate the actual shape of the dose profile strips of Gafchromic XRQA film were used. Films were previously calibrated on site. From the graphic response of the scanned film it is possible to evaluate the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the dose profile which represent the actual beam width. CONCLUSIONS: Computed Tomography Dose Index (CTDI) and Dose Length Product (DLP) need to be changed when the beam width of the CT scanner is over 100 mm. To perform dose evaluation with the conventional instrumentation, two parameters should be considered: the average absorbed dose and the actual beam width. To measure the average absorbed dose, the conventional ionization chamber can be used. For the measurement of the width of the dose profile, Gafchromic XRQA film seemed to be suitable.

Thyroid volume's influence on energy deposition from (131)I calculated by Monte Carlo (MC) simulation.

BACKGROUND: It is well known that the success of the radiomethabolic (131)I treatment of hyperthyroidism could depend on the absorbed dose to the thyroid. It is, thus, very important to calculate the individual radiation dose as accurately as possible for different masses of thyroid lobes. The aim of this work is to evaluate the influence of thyroid volume on the energy deposition from beta and gamma rays of (131)I by Monte Carlo (MC) simulation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We have considered thyroid lobes having an ellipsoidal shape, with a density of 1.05 g/ cm(3) and the material composition suggested by International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). We have calculated the energy deposition of (131)I rays for different volumes of thyroid lobes by using the MCNPX code, with a full transport of beta and gamma rays. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The results show that the total energy deposition has a significant difference, till 11%, when the lobe's volume varies from 1 ml to 25 ml, respect to the value presented in MIRDOSE for a 10 g sphere. The absorbed energy fraction increases by volume, because the increasing volume to surface ratio of ellipsoidal lobe causes the decrease of beta ray fraction escaping from the lobe.

Monte Carlo simulation of intrinsic count rate performance of a scintillation camera for diagnostic images.

This paper describes Monte Carlo simulation of intrinsic count rate performance of a scintillation gamma camera. MCNP Monte Carlo code was employed to calculate pulse height spectrum and detector efficiency. A custom code written in Fortran language was then developed to simulate, by Monte Carlo method, the distortion in pulse height spectrum due to the pile-up effect for paralyzable and nonparalyzable systems. The results of the simulations, compared with the experimental measurement of count rate performance, showed a good agreement between the two different approaches.