Medical Radiation Physics
Dr. Ramadan A. Hassan
A. Professor. Department of Physics
Faculty of Applied Sciences.
Radiation safety practice is divided between two principal categories: the safe use of sources of
external radiation and prevention of personal contamination resulting from inhaled, ingested, or
tactilely transmitted radioactivity.
External radiation originates in X-ray machines and other devices specifically designed to
produce radiation; in devices in which production of X-rays is a side effect, as in the case of the
electron microscope; and in radioisotopes. If it is not feasible to do away with the radiation
source, then exposure of personnel to external radiation must be controlled by concurrent
application of one or more of the following three techniques:
1. Minimizing exposure time.
2. Maximizing distance from the radiation source.
3. Shielding the radiation source.
1-Time;
Although many biological effects of radiation are dependent on dose rate, it may be assumed, for
purposes of environmental control, that the reciprocity relationship is;
dose rate × exposure time = total dose
The product of dose rate and exposure time does not exceed the maximum allowable total dose
permits the work to be done in accordance with radiation safety criteria.
For example, in the case of a radiographer who must make radiographs 5 days per week while
working in a radiation field of 0.25 mSv/h (25 mrems/h), overexposure can be prevented by
limiting his daily working time in the radiation field to 48 minutes. His total daily dose would
then be only 0.2 mSv (20 mrems). If the volume of work requires a longer exposure, then either
another radiographer must be used or the operation must be redesigned in order to decrease the
intensity of the radiation field in which the radiographer must work.
2- Distance;
Point Source;
Intuitively, it is clear that radiation exposure decreases with increasing distance from a radiation
source. When translated into quantitative terms, this fact becomes a powerful tool in radiation
safety. We will consider three cases: a point source, a line source, and a surface source.
In the case of a point source, the variation of dose rate with distance is given simply by the
inverse square law;
At any distance d from a point source of activity A and specific gamma-ray constant, the dose
equivalent rate is given by;
The total dose to a person approaching a source with velocity v during the time t is given
by;
1-
2-
3-
Was he overexposed according to the ICRP 60 criteria?
3-Shielding;
Under conditions of good geometry, the attenuation of a beam of gamma radiation is given by;
However, under conditions of poor geometry, that is, for a broad beam or for a very thick
shield, Eq. underestimates the required shield thickness because it assumes that every photon
that interacts with the shield will be removed from the beam and thus will not be available for
counting by the detector.
Shield thickness for conditions of poor geometry may be estimated by modification of Eq. (5.23)
through the use of a buildup factor B.
The buildup factor, which is always greater than 1, may be defined as the ratio of the intensity of
the radiation, including both the primary and scattered radiation, at any point in a beam, to the
intensity of the primary radiation only at that point.
Air kerma: The energy released per unit mass of a small volume of air when it is irradiated by an x-ray beam.
1-
2-
3-
μ2.75 = 0.485 cm-1
μ1.37 = 0.64 cm-1
1- 2-
For =1.38 R /h
3- HVL2.75 = 1.43 HVL1.37 = 1.08
Lead thickness = 10.16 + 1.43 + 1.08 = 12.67 cm
Γ= 4.36 x 10-7 Svm2/MBq.h
X-Rays;
Shielding for protection against X-rays is considered under two categories:
A-Source shielding .
B- Structural shielding.
Source shielding is usually supplied by the manufacturer of the X-ray equipment in the form
of a lead shield in which the X-ray tube is housed.
The safety standards recommended by the National Council on Radiation Protection (NCRP)
specify the following types of protective tube housings for medical X-ray installations :
1. Diagnostic type
2. Therapeutic type
The structural shielding requirements for a given installation are determined by;
1.The maximum kilovoltage at which the X-ray tube is operated.
2.The maximum milliamperes of beam current.
3.The workload (W), which is a measure, in suitable units, of the amount of use of
an X-ray machine. For X-ray shielding design, workload is usually expressed in
units of milliampere-minutes per week, or Gy/ week
4.The use factor (U), which is the fraction of the workload during which the useful
beam is pointed in the direction under consideration.
5.The occupancy factor (T), which is the factor by which the workload should be
adjusted to correct for the degree or type of occupancy of the area in question.
If U = 0.25, T = 1 (an office) and the primary dose= 2360 mGy/ week
and the distance from the x-ray tube is 2.5 m, then the actual primary
dose per week is :
(2360 x 0.25 x 1)/2.52 = 94.4 mGy/week
Office
Calculation Point
m 2.5
http://www.radprocalculator.com/XRay.aspx
http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/
Homework (8);
1-Design a spherical lead storage container that will attenuate the radiation dose rate from 5 ×
1010 Bq (1.35 Ci) 24Na to 100 μGy/h (10 mrads/h) at a distance of 1 m from the source. (The
source is physically small enough to be considered a “point.”) Γ= 4.36 x 10-7 Sv.m2/MBq.h
cm 13.5
2-A radiographer make radiographs 5 days per week while working in a radiation field of 0.1
mSv/h (10 mrems/h), What is the maximum daily working time can be to prevent
overexposure .?
h2
3- A radiochemist wants to carry a small vial containing 2 × 10 9 Bq (∼ 50 mCi) 60Co solution
from one hood to another. If the estimated carrying time is 3 minutes, what would be the
minimum length of the tongs used to carry the vial in order that his dose not exceed 60 μGy (6
mrads) during the operation?
cm 74
4-Calculate the exposure rate from a 100,000-MBq (2.7-Ci) 60Co “point” source, at a distance
of 1.25 m, if the source is shielded with 10-cm Pb. mR/h 7
http://www.uqu.edu.sa/raali
[email protected]
