바로가기  >

Abstract
In 2016, the ICRP launched Task Group 103 (TG 103) for the explicit purpose of developing a new generation of adult and pediatric reference computational phantoms, named "mesh-type reference computational phantoms (MRCPs)," that can overcome the limitations of voxel-type reference computational phantoms (VRCPs) of ICRP Publications 110 and 143 due to their finite voxel resolutions and the nature of voxel geometry. After completing the development of the adult MRCPs, TG 103 has started the development of pediatric MRCPs comprising 10 phantoms (male and female versions of the reference newborn, 1-year-old, 5-year-old, 10-year-old, and 15-year-old). As part of the TG 103 project, within the present study, the skeletal systems, one of the most important and complex organ systems of the body, were developed for each phantom age and sex. The developed skeletal systems, while closely preserving the original bone topology of the pediatric VRCPs, present substantial improvements in the anatomy of complex and/or small bones. In order to investigate the dosimetric impact of the developed skeletons, the average absorbed doses and the specific absorbed fractions (SAFs) for radiosensitive skeletal tissues (i.e. active marrow and bone endosteum) were computed for some selected external and internal exposure cases, which were then compared with those calculated with the skeletons of pediatric VRCPs. The comparison result showed that the dose values of the pediatric MRCPs were generally similar to those of the pediatric VRCPs for highly penetrating radiations (e.g. photons >200 keV); however, for weakly penetrating radiations (e.g. photons ≤200 keV and electrons), significant differences up to a factor of 140 were observed.

Affiliations

Chansoo Choi  1 , Bangho Shin  1 , Yeon Soo Yeom  2 , Haegin Han  1 , Sangseok Ha  1 , Sungho Moon  1 , Gahee Son  1 , Thang Tat Nguyen  3 , Chan Hyeong Kim  1 , Beom Sun Chung  4 , Wesley E Bolch  5
1 Department of Nuclear Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea (the Republic of).
2 Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, UNITED STATES.
3 School of Nuclear Engineering and Environmental Physics, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Hanoi, VIET NAM.
4 Tulane Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, UNITED STATES.
5 Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, PO Box 116131, 1275 Center Drive, Gainesville, Florida, 32611-6131, UNITED STATES.