Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Table of Contents
 Units of exposure and dose
 Experimental methods for measuring absorbed dose.
1. Exposure measurement with free-air chamber and air-wall chamber.
2. Exposure-dose relationship
3. Direct measurement of absorbed dose: Bragg-Gray Principle
 Source strength: specific gamma-ray emission
 Beta radiation
1. Dose from contaminated surface
2. Skin contamination
3. Submersion dose
 Internally deposited radioisotopes
1. Corpuscular radiation and the specific effective energy (SEE)
2. Effective half-life
3. Total dose commitment
4. Evaluate the internal dose from gamma ray emitters
5. MIRD method – partial energy absorption of gamma ray energy in tissues
 Neutron dose

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Units for Exposure and Dose

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Units for Absorbed Dose

 Radiation damage depends on the energy absorption from the radiation and is
approximately proportional to the concentration of absorbed energy in tissue.
 The basic unit of radiation dose is expressed in terms of absorbed energy per
unit mass of tissue, which is called Gary (Gy)

1Gy  1J / Kg  100rad
where Rad stands for Radiation Absorbed Dose, which is a non - SI unit.

 The Gary is universally applicable to all types of ionizing radiation dosimetry –

irradiation due to external field of gamma rays, neutrons or charged particles as
well as that due to internally deposited radioisotopes.

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

The SI Unit for Exposure

 For external radiation of any given energy flux, the absorbed dose to any point
within an organism depends on the type and energy of radiation, the depth
within the organism of the point at which the absorbed dose is required and
the elemental composition of the absorbing medium at that point.
 The x-ray fields to which an organism may be exposed is normally specified in
exposure unit.

1 X unit  1C / Kg air

 Alternatively, exposure is also measured with the unit Roentgen (R),

1 R=2.5810-4 Ckg-1

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Exposure Measurement: The Free Air Chamber

https://slidetodoc.com/hopewell-designs-inc-calibration-of-
radiation-instruments-overview/

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Exposure Measurement: The Free Air Chamber

Electronic Equilibrium, or Charged-

Particle Equilibrium (CPE)

Turner, pp. 365.

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Charged-Particle Equilibrium (CPE)

From <<Introduction to Radiological Physics and Radiation Dosimetry>>

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Exposure Measurement: The Free Air Chamber

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Relationship between Exposure and Dose

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

The SI Unit for Exposure

 For external radiation of any given energy flux, the absorbed dose to any point
within an organism depends on the type and energy of radiation, the depth
within the organism of the point at which the absorbed dose is required and
the elemental composition of the absorbing medium at that point.
 The x-ray fields to which an organism may be exposed is normally specified in
exposure unit.

1 X unit  1C / Kg air

 Alternatively, exposure is also measured with the unit Roentgen (R),

1 R=2.5810-4 Ckg-1

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 4: Interaction of Radiation with Matter – Interaction of Photons with Matter

Calculation of Energy Transfer and Energy Absorption (Revisited)

Assuming enx<<1, which is consistent with the thin slab approximation and the
energy fluence rate carried by the incident gamma ray beam is Ψ J ⋅ cm ⋅ s .
Then the energy absorbed in the thin slab per second over a unit cross section area is
given by
Δ𝛹 𝛹 𝛹 𝛹 1 𝑒 𝛹 𝜇 𝑥 (𝐽 ⋅ 𝑐𝑚 ⋅𝑠 )
The rate of energy absorbed in the slab of area A (cm ) and thickness x is

𝐴𝛹 𝜇 𝑥 (𝐽 ⋅ 𝑠 )
Given the density of the material is , the rate of energy absorption per unit mass
(Dose Rate) in the slab is

⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ( )
𝐷
⋅ ⋅ ⋅
,

𝝁𝒆𝒏 𝑐𝑚
𝐷𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑒𝑟: 𝑫 𝐽 ⋅ 𝑔 ⋅𝑠 𝜳𝟎 𝐽 ⋅ 𝑐𝑚 ⋅𝑠
𝝆 𝑔⁄𝑐𝑚
 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Does-Exposure Relationship
 Another example (Cember, p178)

 is the photon flux (photons/cm2/s).

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Does-Exposure Relationship

   E  m
D
m

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Does-Exposure Relationship
 The relationship between exposure and dose is obtained from the ratio of the
absorbed dose rate and the exposure rate,

 For an X-ray flux that could induce 1 X-unit of exposure in air, it could lead to
the following amount of dose in a given tissue
 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Does-Exposure Relationship
 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

How is the human dose typically measured?

The Bragg-Gray Principle

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Exposure Measurement: The Air Wall Chamber

Solution

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Bragg-Gray Principle: Problem Statement

• Homogeneous medium, wall (w) Q

• Probe - cavity - thin layer of gas (g)

• Charged particles crossing w-g interface +

-
• Objective: find a relation between the dose gas
Dg

in a probe to that in the medium wall Dw

• Basis for dosimetry

F.A. Attix, Introduction to Radiological Physics and Radiation Dosimetry

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Bragg-Gray Principle
If we look at the very thin layers of wall media immediately
adjacent to the interface, then the flux of the charged particles is
almost unchanged across the boundary. The dose rate to the
wall is given by Q

+
-
where 𝛍w is the linear energy absorption coefficient. gas
Dg
wall
Then the ratio of dose (rate) in the wall and in the gas is Dw

For charged particles, the linear energy absorption coefficient 𝜇 is

roughly the same as the linear stopping power, 𝑠 , therefore
 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Absorbed Dose Measurement: Bragg-Gray Principle

Conditions for Reaching the Electronic Equilibrium

 Dimension of the gas volume is small compared to the range of the secondary
charged particles.
 Wall thickness > maximum range of secondary charged particles.
 Wall thickness is not great enough to significantly attenuate the incident radiation.
 Wall and gas have similar atomic compositions.
 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Absorbed Dose Measurement: Bragg-Gray Principle

 The Bragg-Gray principle provides a means of relating ionization
measurements in a gas volume to the absorbed dose in some convenient
materials (such tissue equivalent materials) from which a dosimeter can be
fabricated.
 If the gas cavity is surrounded by a wall medium of proper thickness to
establish electronic equilibrium, then the energy absorbed per unit mass of the
wall, dEm/dMm, is related to the energy absorbed per unit mass of gas,
dEg/dMg, by

where Sm is the main mass stopping power of the wall medium and Sg is the
mass stopping power of the gas to the secondary electrons.

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Measurement of X- and Gamma Ray Dose

 For gamma rays with different energies
 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Kinetic Energy Released per Unit Mass (Kerma)

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 4: Interaction of Radiation with Matter – Interaction of Photons with Matter

Energy Transfer by a Gamma Ray Beam

All Compton scattered

Compton gamma rays escaped
scattering
Multiple Compton
scattering ignored

All characteristic
Photoelectric X-rays escaped
effect
All photoelectrons, auger
electrons and Compton recoil
electrons are absorbed

Pair production All annihilation gamma rays

escaped
 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Kinetic Energy Released per Unit Mass (Kerma)

 Kerma: Initial kinetic energy of the “primary” ionizing particles (including the
photoelectrons, positron-electron pairs, recoil electrons and the scattered nuclei
in case of fast neutrons) produced by the interaction of incident radiation per
unit mass of the interacting medium.
 Measured in Gy (Joules per kilogram).
 An example (Cember, p183)

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Kinetic Energy Released per Unit Mass (Kerma)

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Kinetic Energy Released per Unit Mass (Kerma)

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Radiation Dose Induced by Gamma Radiation

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Specific Gamma-Ray Constant

 Specific Gamma Ray Constant (): The gamma ray exposure rate from a point
source of a unit activity at a unit distance. It is given in unit of coulombs per
kilogram per hour at 1m from a 1 MBq point source.

 It is a useful numerical quantity for predicting the exposure resultant from a

given gamma ray emitting radioisotope.

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 4: Interaction of Radiation with Matter – Interaction of Photons with Matter

Calculation of Energy Transfer and Energy Absorption

Assuming enx<<1, which is consistent with the thin slab approximation and the
energy fluence rate carried by the incident gamma ray beam is Ψ J ⋅ cm ⋅ s .
Then the energy absorbed in the thin slab per second over a unit cross section area is
given by
𝛹 𝜇 𝑥 (𝐽 ⋅ 𝑐𝑚 ⋅𝑠 )
The rate of energy absorbed in the slab of area A (cm ) and thickness x is

𝐴𝛹 𝜇 𝑥 (𝐽 ⋅ 𝑠 )
Given the density of the material is , the rate of energy absorption per unit mass
(Dose Rate) in the slab is

⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅
𝐷
⋅ ⋅ ⋅
,

𝜇 𝑐𝑚
𝐷𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑒𝑟: 𝐷 𝐽 ⋅ 𝑔 ⋅𝑠 𝛹 𝐽 ⋅ 𝑐𝑚 ⋅𝑠
𝜌 𝑔⁄𝑐𝑚
 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Specific Gamma-Ray Constant

Cember, pp. 226.

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Specific Gamma-Ray Constant

Given the specific gamma ray constant for an isotope, the exposure rate induced at a
location at a distance, r, is simply
activity
𝐴
𝑋 𝛤
𝑟

Turner, pp. 382.

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Specific Gamma-Ray Constant

 Specific Gamma Ray Constant (): The exposure rate from a gamma ray point
source of unit activity and positioned at a unit distance. It is given in unit of
coulombs per kilogram per hour at 1 m from a 1 MBq point source.
 It is a numerical quantity used to predict the exposure resultant from a given
gamma ray emitting radioisotope – A measure of the ability of a gamma-ray
source to deliver exposure and dose.

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Internally Deposited Radioisotope (IV)

Gamma Ray Emitters
 For gamma rays, one can no longer assume that the organ is infinitely large.
 For a uniformly distributed gamma ray emitting isotope, the dose rate from the
isotope in an infinitesimal volume dV to Point p at a distance r away is
Mass energy absorption coefficient of the
dose receiving media
⁄ ⁄
𝑑𝐷 𝐶⋅𝛤⋅ ⋅ 𝑑𝑉 ⋅ 34 ⁄
⋅ ⁄
 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Internally Deposited Radioisotope (IV)

Gamma Ray Emitters
 As an example, for a uniform spherical source, the dose rate at the center is given
by

𝑱⁄𝒌𝒈 𝝁𝒎 ⁄𝝆𝒎
⋅ 𝟑𝟒 ⋅
𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒐𝒎𝒃⁄𝒌𝒈 𝝁𝒂 ⁄𝝆𝒂

𝑱⁄𝒌𝒈 𝝁𝒎 ⁄𝝆𝒎
⋅ 𝟑𝟒 ⋅
𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒐𝒎𝒃⁄𝒌𝒈 𝝁𝒂 ⁄𝝆𝒂

 And the dose rate at the surface of the spherical source

volume is given by

𝐷 0.5 𝐷
 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

0
 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Radiation Dose Induced by Beta Radiation

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Skin Dose from Surface Contamination

1. Beta particles are very easy to attenuate, for beta particles to contribute to skin
dose, the source must be very close to the skin.
2. If we consider a thin layer of beta emitters placed parallel to the skin at a very
small distance, we could assume that beta particles are traveling in parallel
beams along two opposite directions only – 50% going up and 50% going down.

3. For skin dose, we only consider the dose deliver to the thin layer of Basel cells
under the dead-layer (density thickness: 0.007g/cm2) of the skin.
 Chapter 4: Interaction of Radiation with Matter – Interaction of Photons with Matter

Calculation of Absorbed Dose (Revisited)

Assuming enx<<1, which is consistent with the thin slab approximation and the
energy fluence rate carried by the incident beam of particles is Ψ J ⋅ cm ⋅ s .
Then the energy absorbed in the thin slab per second over a unit cross section area is
given by
𝛹 𝜇 𝑥 (𝐽 ⋅ 𝑐𝑚 ⋅𝑠 )
The rate of energy absorbed in the slab of area A (cm ) and thickness x is

𝐴𝛹 𝜇 𝑥 (𝐽 ⋅ 𝑠 )
Given the density of the material is  𝝆 𝑔⁄𝑐𝑚 , and the linear energy absorption
coefficient is 𝝁𝒆𝒏 𝑐𝑚 , the rate of energy absorption per unit mass (Dose Rate) in
the slab is
⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅
𝐷
⋅ ⋅ ⋅
,

𝜇 𝑐𝑚
𝐷𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑒𝑟: 𝐷 𝐽 ⋅ 𝑔 ⋅𝑠 𝛹 𝐽 ⋅ 𝑐𝑚 ⋅𝑠
𝜌 𝑔⁄𝑐𝑚
 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Skin Dose from Surface Contamination

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Skin Dose from Surface Contamination

backscattered beta particles
beta particles
surface

beta contamination

For a planar beta emitting surface, the surface dose rate may be easily calculated.
Suppose the surface concentration is Ca Bq/cm2, the dose rate to the basal cell
region is
Mass energy absorption
surface concentration is Ca (Bq/cm2) Average energy of beta particles coefficient of tissue (𝑐𝑚 ⁄g)

⋅ ⋅
𝐷 𝐶 ⋅ 0.5 ⋅ 𝑓 ⋅ 𝐸 ⋅ 𝑒 ⋅𝑒 ⋅𝜇
Backscattering correction, 1.25 Attenuation by air Attenuation by dead skin layer

energy fluence rate, (J/cm2/sec)

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Beta Radiation – Dose from Surface Contamination

An Example (Cember, p. 190)

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Beta Radiation – Submersion Dose

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Beta Radiation – Submersion Dose

 For a small volume of air inside an infinite cloud of beta emitting radionuclide,
we have

 In an infinite cloud containing C Bq/m3 of a beta emitter, the dose rate in a

small volume inside the radioactive cloud is

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Beta Radiation – Submersion Dose

 For a small volume of air inside an infinite cloud of beta emitting radionuclide,
we have

 In an infinite cloud containing C Bq/m3 of a beta emitter, the dose rate in a

small volume inside the radioactive cloud is

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Skin Dose for Human Submersed in Radioactive Cloud

Containing Beta Emitters
 Chapter 3: Radioactivity

Understanding the Radiation from Cs-137

Decay scheme:

What will happen to the excited

Ba-137 nucleus?

Internal conversion,
10%
http://faithandsurvival.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/fukushima-
cesium-137-spread.jpg

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Human Submersed in Radioactive Cloud Containing Beta

Emitters

human body

betas
Basel cells of the skin

dose rate to the skin, Db ??

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Human Submersed in Radioactive Cloud Containing Beta

Emitters
 Because (a) the skin is irradiated from one side only, and (b) soft tissue absorbs
about 10% more energy per kilogram than dose in air, the dose rate to the
basal cells of the skin in a semi-infinite medium is

 Therefore, the dose rate to the skin of a person immersed in a large cloud of
concentration C Bq/m3 is

 Generally, if the cloud consists of several groups of beta particles with different
maximum energies, the beta dose rate is
fi : Fraction of the i’ th group of beta particles
𝐸 : Average energy of beta particles
i, t : Linear energy absorption coefficient of
tissue.

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Beta Radiation – Submersion Dose

An example. Cember, pp. 231.

The Fukushima nuclear disaster is

estimated to have released between 20-
200 megacuries of Krypton 85 from three
melted down reactors

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Organ Dose from Internally Deposited Beta Emitters

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Internally Deposited Radioisotope (I)

Corpuscular Beta Radiation
 For an infinitely large medium containing a uniformly distributed radioisotope,
the concentration of absorbed energy must be equal to the concentration of
energy emitted by the isotope.
 The energy absorbed per unit mass per transformation in a given organ is called
the specific effective energy (SEE).
 For practical health physics purposes, “infinitely large” may be approximated
by a tissue mass whose dimension exceed the range of the radiation.
 For alpha and beta radiation, this condition can be easily met, so that the SEE is
simply the average energy of the radiation divided by the mass of the tissue in
which it is distributed.

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Internally Deposited Beta Emitters

– An Example Cember, pp. 234.

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Neutron Dose

Neutron dose to tissue:

• Fast neutron dose from elastic scattering (mostly from first-collision dose).
• Thermal neutron dose
• neutron capture by H  gamma ray dose.
• neutron capture by N  dose from the recoil nucleus.

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Radiation Dose from Fast Neutrons

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

How do Fast Neutrons Deposit Energy in Tissue?

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 2: Interaction of Radiation with Matter – Interaction of Neutrons with Matter

Energy Spectrum of Scattered Neutrons (Revisited)

Average energy carried by the scattered neutron:

𝐸 𝐸 𝐸 ⋅𝐸
P(E’)

1/[(1-)E0]

𝑀 𝑚 E0 E’: Energy of scattered neutrons

𝐸 ≡ 𝛼𝐸
𝑀 𝑚 E0

Average energy transferred to the recoil nucleus:

2𝑀𝑚
𝐸 _ _ 𝐸 𝐸 ⋅𝐸
𝑀 𝑚
 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Radiation Dose from Fast Neutrons (Revisited)

 For isotropic scattering, the average fraction of energy transferred in an elastic
scattering with a nucleus of atomic mass number M is

 The composition of soft tissue is shown below

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Radiation Dose from Fast Neutrons

 Neutron dose is deposited through scattering and neutron induced nuclear
reactions.
 In cases of elastic scattering, the scattered nuclei dissipate their energy in the
immediate vicinity of the primary neutron interaction. The radiation dose
absorbed locally in this way is called the first collision dose. The scattered
neutron is not considered after this primary interaction.
 For fast neutrons, the first collision dose rate is given by

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Radiation Dose from Fast Neutrons

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

How do Thermal Neutrons Deposit Energy in Tissue?

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 2: Interaction of Radiation with Matter – Interaction of Neutrons with Matter

Interaction of Slow and Thermal Neutrons (E<0.5eV) (Revisited)

The most important interactions between slow neutrons and
absorbing materials are neutron-induced reactions, such as (n,),
(n,), (n,p) and (n, fission) etc. These interactions lead to more
prominent signatures for neutron detection.

 recoil nucleus
 protons

neutron  target nucleus  
 alpha particles
fission fragments

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Interaction of Radiation with Matter – Interaction of Neutrons with Matter

Neutron Induced Reactions

1
0 n 147N 146C 11p
 Cross section for thermal neutron is 1.70 barns.
 Q=0.626MeV.
 Since the range of the proton and the 14C nucleus are relatively small, their
energy is deposited locally at the site where the neutron was captured.
 Capture by hydrogen and nitrogen are the only two processes through which
neutron deliver a significant does to soft tissue.

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Thermal Neutron Dose from the 14N(n,p)14C Reaction

 Two reactions are normally considered, namely 14N(n,p)14C and 1H(n,r)2H
reactions.

 For the 14N(n,p)14C reaction, the dose is given by

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Interaction of Radiation with Matter – Interaction of Neutrons with Matter

Neutron Induced Reactions

1
0 n 11H 12H  00

 Neutron absorption followed by the immediate emission of a gamma ray

photon.
 Since the thermal neutron has negligible energy by comparison, the gamma
photon has the energy Q=2.22MeV released by the reaction, which represents
the binding energy of the deuteron.
 The capture cross section per atom is 0.33barn.
 When tissue is exposed to thermal neutrons, this reaction provides a source of
gamma rays that delivers dose to the tissue.

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Thermal Neutron Dose from the 1H(n,)2H Reaction

 For the 1H(n,)2H reaction, the dose is deposited by the gamma rays emitted
throughout the entire volume. The number of reaction per second per gram is
governed by the neutron flux and is given by

 The resulting gamma ray dose is illustrated with the following example.

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

𝐷 𝐴 ⋅ 𝐸 ⋅ 𝜑 1.973 10 𝐵𝑞 ⁄𝑘𝑔 ⋅ 2.23MeV ⋅ 1.6 10 𝐽⁄𝑀𝑒𝑉 ⋅ 0.278
=1.19 10 𝐺𝑦⁄sec = 6.89 10 𝐺𝑦⁄h
 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Accumulated Dose from Internally Deposited

Radioactive Sources

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Partial Absorption of Gamma-Ray Energy –

MIRD Method

 To account for the partial absorption of gamma-ray energy in organs and

tissues, the Medical Internal Radiation Dose (MIRD) Committee of the
Society of Nuclear Medicine has developed a formal system for calculating
the dose to a target organ or tissue from a source organ containing a
uniformly distributed radioisotope.
 The absorption fraction – the fraction of the energy radiated by the source
organ, which is absorbed by the target organ.

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Partial Absorption of Gamma-Ray Energy –

MIRD Method
 The absorption fraction – the fraction of the energy radiated by the source
organ and absorbed by the target organ.

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Partial Absorption of Gamma Ray Energy –

MIRD Method
 The absorbed fraction are calculated by the application of Monte Carlo
methods.

 Standard data on the absorbed dose for photons of various energies for
point isotropic sources and for uniformly distributed sources are
published by MIRD in several Supplements to the Journal of Nuclear
Medicine

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Internally Deposited Radioisotope (II)

Effective Half-Life
 The total dose absorbed by an organ during any given time interval after the
deposition of the isotope in the organ may be calculated by integrating the
dose rate over the required time interval. For this purpose, two factors must
be considered:
In situ radioactive decay of the isotope  exponential decay
Biological elimination of the isotope  follows the first-order kinetics 
exponential decay
 The equation for the quantity of radioisotope within an organ at any given time
after the deposition of a quantity Q0 is given by

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Internally Deposited Radioisotope (II)

Effective Half-Life
 One can define an effective elimination constant E =R + B that represents
the combined effects of these two decay processes,

and

is called the effective half-life.

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Internally Deposited Radioisotope (III)

Accumulated Dose and Dose Commitment
 Given the initial dose rate 𝐷 , the accumulated dose received during a time
interval t after the deposition of the isotope is

 For practical purpose, an infinitely long time corresponding to about 6 half-

lives. The total dose received from complete decay is called the dose
commitment.

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Internally Deposited Radioisotope (III)

Total Dose: Dose Commitment

Overall dose commitment

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Internally Deposited Radioisotope (III)

Total Dose: Dose Commitment

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

MIRD Method – General Treatment of Internal Dose

An Example
Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry
 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

MIRD Method – General Treatment of Internal Dose

An Example

absorption amount of E
fraction absorbed per decay

amount of E
emitted per decay
 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

𝐴, organ burden: total

number of decays that
would happen in the
organ.

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

For each particle emitted in the source, the

amount of energy absorbed in the target

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

The total dose that the

organ will be receiving from
the internally administrated
radioactivity

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry
 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

MIRD Method – Another Example, Cember, 6.18

Step 1: Derive the effective half-live of I-131

Note that we will use 𝜆 to symbolize the effective decay constant in the following derivations.

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Step 2: Derive the absorbed dose to the thyroid per I-131 decay

beta dose per decay

 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Absorption fraction

Gamma dose
to the thyroid
per I-131 decay

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

Step 3: derive the I-131 activity in the thyroid as a function of t

rate of intake
If the uptake of I-131 continues, the
dose rate as a function of time is
𝐸 𝐾
𝐷 𝑡 ⋅ ⋅ 1 𝑒
𝑚 𝜆
𝐷 ⋅ 1 𝑒

If the uptake of I-131 continues, the

saturation dose rate is given by
𝐸 𝐾
𝐷 ⋅
𝑚 𝜆
Step 4: Derive the accumulated dose received within the first 30 days.
If the uptake continues, the accumulated dose received by a given time t is

𝐷 𝐷 𝑡 ⋅ 𝑑𝑡

where

𝐷 𝑡 ⋅ ⋅ 1 𝑒 ,

and 𝐸 is the mean absorbed energy in the organ per decay of I-131 in the thyroid.

So the accumulated dose is given by

𝐸 𝐾
𝐷 𝐷 𝑡 ⋅ 𝑑𝑡 ⋅ ⋅ 1 𝑒 ⋅ 𝑑𝑡
𝑚 𝜆

𝐸 𝐾 1
⋅ ⋅ 𝑡 𝑒 1
𝑚 𝜆 𝜆
 𝐸 𝐾
𝐷 𝑡 ⋅ ⋅ 1 𝑒
𝑚 𝜆

𝐸 𝐾
𝐷 ⋅
𝑚 𝜆

𝐸 𝐾
𝐷 𝑡 30𝑑 ⋅ ⋅ 1 𝑒
𝑚 𝜆

𝐷 𝑡 𝐷 𝑡 30𝑑 ⋅ 𝑒

accumulated dose after the initial 30 days.

accumulated dose within the first 30 days

Step 4: Derive the accumulated dose received within the first 30 days (continued)

Using the following equation for accumulated dose till time t,

𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐷 ⋅ ,
 Chapter 5: Radiation Dosimetry

Internally Deposited Radioisotope:

Total Dose or Dose Commitment (Revisited)
 The total dose received during a time interval t after the deposition of the
isotope is

 For practical purpose, an infinitely long time corresponding to about 6 half-

lives. The total dose received from complete decay is called the dose
commitment.

NPRE 441, Principles of Radiation Protection, Spring 2023

Step 5: Derive the total dose (dose commitment ) received after t=30d.

𝐷 𝑡 𝐷 𝑡 30𝑑 ⋅ 𝑒
(Final) Step 6: Derive the total dose (dose commitment) from the initial intake of I-131