scholarly journals Limitations in the assessment of radon dose: the role of activity measurements in the human body

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
J. Kalef-Ezra ◽  
S. Valakis

Radon-222 is classified in the Group I of the human carcinogens. The in situ decay of inhaled 222Rn and its short-lived decay products (T1/2 <30 min) is the main source of radiation burden to the general population of natural origin. The corresponding effective dose is routinely calculated as the product of the 222Rn concentration in air, a predetermined dosimetric constant and a factor that depends on the space type (e.g. residential or public building, cave, mine, etc). However, in practice, there are large spatial and temporal variations in the activity ratio of each progeny to 222Rn in air, the characteristics of the progeny carrying particles and the metabolism of each progeny depending on air quality, as well as differences in the anatomic and physiological characteristics between individuals, that vary substantially even with time. Therefore, the currently employed dosimetric approach may introduce large uncertainties. In the hypothetical case of acute deposition and full retention in the human body of equal activities of all 222Rn progeny, about 93% of the effective dose is due to the decaying 214Po. The 214Po activity can be assessed by measurement of its γ-emitting precursor, 214Bi, which is in full equilibrium with 214Po in the human body. The 214Bi activity can be measured using a high-sensitivity whole-body counter with high counting uniformity, such as the one in use at the Ioannina University Medical Physics Department. Its detection efficiency and its dependence on body shape and size were assessed by Monte Carlo simulations. Measurements carried out in healthy adult volunteers residing at a short distance from the counter, indicated a mean total body 214Bi activity (TBBi) of ~100 Bq during the cold season of the year and lower during the hot one. Higher mean TBBi levels were found in male than in female adults. Therefore, TBBi measurements may allow for accurate radon-related risk assessment on individual base.

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Andrejewski ◽  
Fabio De Marco ◽  
Konstantin Willer ◽  
Wolfgang Noichl ◽  
Alex Gustschin ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Grating-based x-ray dark-field and phase-contrast imaging allow extracting information about refraction and small-angle scatter, beyond conventional attenuation. A step towards clinical translation has recently been achieved, allowing further investigation on humans. Methods After the ethics committee approval, we scanned the full body of a human cadaver in anterior-posterior orientation. Six measurements were stitched together to form the whole-body image. All radiographs were taken at a three-grating large-object x-ray dark-field scanner, each lasting about 40 s. Signal intensities of different anatomical regions were assessed. The magnitude of visibility reduction caused by beam hardening instead of small-angle scatter was analysed using different phantom materials. Maximal effective dose was 0.3 mSv for the abdomen. Results Combined attenuation and dark-field radiography are technically possible throughout a whole human body. High signal levels were found in several bony structures, foreign materials, and the lung. Signal levels were 0.25 ± 0.13 (mean ± standard deviation) for the lungs, 0.08 ± 0.06 for the bones, 0.023 ± 0.019 for soft tissue, and 0.30 ± 0.02 for an antibiotic bead chain. We found that phantom materials, which do not produce small-angle scatter, can generate a strong visibility reduction signal. Conclusion We acquired a whole-body x-ray dark-field radiograph of a human body in few minutes with an effective dose in a clinical acceptable range. Our findings suggest that the observed visibility reduction in the bone and metal is dominated by beam hardening and that the true dark-field signal in the lung is therefore much higher than that of the bone.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (15) ◽  
pp. 9634-9643
Author(s):  
Zhenming Chu ◽  
Weicheng Jiao ◽  
Yifan Huang ◽  
Yongting Zheng ◽  
Rongguo Wang ◽  
...  

A graphene-based gradient wrinkle strain sensor with a broad range and ultra-high sensitivity was fabricated by a simple pre-stretching method. It can be applied to the detection of full-range human body motions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Wu ◽  
Jikun Liu

AbstractWith the rapid development of gymnastics technology, novel movements are also emerging. Due to the emergence of various complicated new movements, higher requirements are put forward for college gymnastics teaching. Therefore, it is necessary to combine the multimedia simulation technology to construct the human body rigid model and combine the image texture features to display the simulation image in texture form. In the study, GeBOD morphological database modeling was used to provide the data needed for the modeling of the whole-body human body of the joint and used for dynamics simulation. Simultaneously, in order to analyze and summarize the technical essentials of the innovative action, this experiment compared and analyzed the hem stage of the cross-headstand movement of the subject and the hem stage of the 180° movement. Research shows that the method proposed in this paper has certain practical effects.


Dose-Response ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 155932582097313
Author(s):  
Dario Baldi ◽  
Liberatore Tramontano ◽  
Vincenzo Alfano ◽  
Bruna Punzo ◽  
Carlo Cavaliere ◽  
...  

For decades, the main imaging tool for multiple myeloma (MM) patient’s management has been the conventional skeleton survey. In 2014 international myeloma working group defined the advantages of the whole-body low dose computed tomography (WBLDCT) as a gold standard, among imaging modalities, for bone disease assessment and subsequently implemented this technique in the MM diagnostic workflow. The aim of this study is to investigate, in a group of 30 patients with a new diagnosis of MM, the radiation dose (CT dose index, dose-length product, effective dose), the subjective image quality score and osseous/extra-osseous findings rate with a modified WBLDCT protocol. Spectral shaping and third-generation dual-source multidetector CT scanner was used for the assessment of osteolytic lesions due to MM, and the dose exposure was compared with the literature findings reported until 2020. Mean radiation dose parameters were reported as follows: CT dose index 0.3 ± 0.1 mGy, Dose-Length Product 52.0 ± 22.5 mGy*cm, effective dose 0.44 ± 0.19 mSv. Subjective image quality was good/excellent in all subjects. 11/30 patients showed osteolytic lesions, with a percentage of extra-osseous findings detected in 9/30 patients. Our data confirmed the advantages of WBLDCT in the diagnosis of patients with MM, reporting an effective dose for our protocol as the lowest among previous literature findings.


Author(s):  
Martin Bauer ◽  
Sandra Barna ◽  
Matthias Blaickner ◽  
Konstantin Prosenz ◽  
Karsten Bamminger ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose To assess in healthy volunteers the whole-body distribution and dosimetry of [11C]metoclopramide, a new positron emission tomography (PET) tracer to measure P-glycoprotein activity at the blood-brain barrier. Procedures Ten healthy volunteers (five women, five men) were intravenously injected with 387 ± 49 MBq of [11C]metoclopramide after low dose CT scans and were then imaged by whole-body PET scans from head to upper thigh over approximately 70 min. Ten source organs (brain, thyroid gland, right lung, myocardium, liver, gall bladder, left kidney, red bone marrow, muscle and the contents of the urinary bladder) were manually delineated on whole-body images. Absorbed doses were calculated with QDOSE (ABX-CRO) using the integrated IDAC-Dose 2.1 module. Results The majority of the administered dose of [11C]metoclopramide was taken up into the liver followed by urinary excretion and, to a smaller extent, biliary excretion of radioactivity. The mean effective dose of [11C]metoclopramide was 1.69 ± 0.26 μSv/MBq for female subjects and 1.55 ± 0.07 μSv/MBq for male subjects. The two organs receiving the highest radiation doses were the urinary bladder (10.81 ± 0.23 μGy/MBq and 8.78 ± 0.89 μGy/MBq) and the liver (6.80 ± 0.78 μGy/MBq and 4.91 ± 0.74 μGy/MBq) for female and male subjects, respectively. Conclusions [11C]Metoclopramide showed predominantly renal excretion, and is safe and well tolerated in healthy adults. The effective dose of [11C]metoclopramide was comparable to other 11C-labeled PET tracers.


2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 1327-1338
Author(s):  
Gen TAMAOKI ◽  
Takuya YOSHIMURA ◽  
Kaoru KURIYAMA ◽  
Kazuma NAKAI

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 102-110
Author(s):  
A. Molokanov ◽  
B. Kukhta ◽  
E. Maksimova

Purpose: Harmonization and improvement of the system for regulating the internal radiation exposure of workers and the basic requirements for ensuring radiation safety with international requirements and recommendations. Material and methods: Issues related to the development of approaches to regulation and monitoring of workers for internal radiation exposure in the process of evolution of the ICRP recommendations and the national radiation safety standards, are considered. The subject of analysis is the standardized values: dose limits for workers and permissible levels as well as directly related methods of monitoring of workers for internal radiation exposure, whose purpose is to determine the degree of compliance with the principles of radiation safety and regulatory requirements, including non-exceeding the basic dose limits and permissible levels. The permissible levels of inhalation intake of insoluble compounds (dioxide) of plutonium-239 are considered as a numerical example. Results: Based on the analysis of approaches to the regulation and monitoring of workers for internal radiation exposure for the period from 1959 to 2019, it is shown that a qualitative change in the approach occurred in the 1990s. It was due to a decrease in the number of standardized values by introducing a single dose limit for all types of exposure: the effective dose E, which takes into account the different sensitivity of organs and tissues for stochastic radiation effects (WT), using the previously accepted concepts of the equivalent dose H and groups of critical organs. From the analysis it follows that the committed effective dose is a linear transformation of the intake, linking these two quantities by the dose coefficient, which does not depend on the time during which the intake occurred, and reflects certain exposure conditions of the radionuclide intake (intake routes, parameters of aerosols and type of radionuclide compounds). It was also shown that the reference value of the function z(t) linking the measured value of activity in an organ (tissue) or in excretion products with the committed effective dose for a reference person, which is introduced for the first time in the publications of the ICRP OIR 2015-2019, makes it possible to standardize the method of measuring the normalized value of the effective dose. Based on the comparison of the predicted values of the lung and daily urine excretion activities following constant chronic inhalation intake of insoluble plutonium compounds at a rate equal annual limit of intake (ALI) during the period of occupational activity 50 years it was shown that the modern biokinetic models give a slightly lower level (on average 2 times) of the lungs exposure compared to the models of the previous generation and a proportionally lower level (on average 1.4 times) of plutonium urine excretion for the standard type of insoluble plutonium compounds S. However, for the specially defined insoluble plutonium compound, PuO2, the level of plutonium urine excretion differs significantly downward (on average 11.5 times) compared to the models of the previous generation. Conclusion: With the practical implementation of new ICRP OIR models, in particular for PuO2 compounds, additional studies should be carried out on the behavior of insoluble industrial plutonium compounds in the human body. Besides, additional possibilities should be used to determine the intake of plutonium by measuring in the human body the radionuclide Am-241, which is the Pu-241 daughter. To determine the plutonium urine excretion, the most sensitive measurement techniques should be used, having a decision threshold about fractions of mBq in a daily urine for S-type compounds and an order of magnitude lower for PuO2 compounds. This may require the development and implementation in monitoring practice the plutonium-DTPA Biokinetic Model.


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