A simple spreadsheet program for calculating mass attenuation coefficients and shielding parameters based on EPICS2017 and EPDL97 photoatomic libraries

Abstract The aim of the present work is to investigate the radiation absorption capacity of different soil samples in Turkey. For this purpose, we used a γ ray transmission geometry to measure the mass attenuation coefficients of eight soil samples collected between Bingöl city and Solhan district, Turkey at different γ-ray energies in the range of 13.94–88.04 keV. The radioactive sources utilized in the experiment were 241Am, 109Cd and 133Ba. FFAST and WinXCOM programs were used to evaluate the theoretical mass attenuation coefficients values of the selected soil samples. There is a good agreement between experimental and theoretical results. Additionally, the mass attenuation coefficients values used to evaluate different radiation shielding parameters such as effective atomic number, half value layer and mean free path. The variation of shielding parameters was examined for soil composition and photon energy. The obtained results revealed that S6 soil sample is the best soil in terms of shielding effectiveness among all the collected soils due to lower values for half value layer and mean free path. The effective removal cross-section (ΣR) of fast neutrons for the collected soils was also computed to examine neutrons shielding properties of the soil samples. It is found that the ΣR values for the soil samples are almost constant and lie within the range (0.04286–0.04949 cm−1).

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Use of Primary Beam Filtration in Estimating Mass Attenuation Coefficients by Compton Scattering

Advances in X-Ray Analysis ◽

10.1007/978-1-4613-2471-3_4 ◽

1985 ◽

pp. 25-30 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

B. H. O’Connor ◽

W-J. Chang

Keyword(s):

Compton Scattering ◽

Primary Beam ◽

Attenuation Coefficients ◽

Mass Attenuation Coefficients ◽

Mass Attenuation

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Design and Production of Two-Piece Thyroid-Neck Phantom by the Concurrent Use of Epoxy Resin and Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) Soft Tissue Equivalent Materials

Journal of Biomedical Physics and Engineering ◽

10.31661/jbpe.v8i2.952 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

Author(s):

M Karimi ◽

H Mostaghimi ◽

S. F Shams ◽

A R Mehdizadeh

Keyword(s):

Soft Tissue ◽

Methyl Methacrylate ◽

Epoxy Resin ◽

Attenuation Coefficients ◽

Poly Methyl Methacrylate ◽

Tissue Equivalent ◽

Concurrent Use ◽

Human Soft Tissue ◽

Mass Attenuation Coefficients ◽

Mass Attenuation

The aim of this report is to present a new two-piece thyroid-neck phantom produced by the concurrent use of epoxy resin and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA: plexiglass) soft tissue equivalent materials. Accordingly, mass attenuation coefficients of the epoxy resin and the plexiglass compounds were obtained from simulation (NIST XCOM 3.1) and measurements (practical dosimetry) and compared to those related to human soft tissue (ICRU 44). The thyroid-neck phantom and thyroid gland dimensions were derived from scientific references and the atlas of human anatomy, respectively. The thyroid phantom was designed by CATIA V5R16 software and produced by the epoxy resin compound by three-dimensional printer. Other organs were designed by ProNest software and made by the plexiglass sheets by CNC laser cutting machine. The mass attenuation coefficients for the epoxy resin (50 keV- 20 MeV) and the plexiglass (0-20 MeV) were comparable to human soft tissue (ICRU 44), all with standard relative deviation beneath 5%. In addition, the SPECT images indicated the similarity between human thyroid tissue and its phantom. In conclusion, this study proves the feasibility and reliability of epoxy resin application in the production of two-piece thyroid-neck phantom. This phantom can be applied in the calibration of gamma camera systems, dosimetry and gamma spectrometry in the nuclear medicine field.

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