Realistic computerized human phantoms

To estimate the risk resulting from exposures to ionizing radiation, the organ and tissue doses should be assessed. A convenient method is the calculation of these doses using representations of the human body, called models or phantoms, together with computer codes simulating the transport of radiation in the body. Most commonly used are mathematical phantoms whose external and internal volumes are defined by simple geometric bodies. More recently, phantoms constructed from computed tomographic data of real persons were introduced as an improvement. These phantoms present advantages concerning the location and shape of the organs, in particular the hard bone and bone marrow, whose distribution can be assessed with high resolution. So far, three of these phantoms were constructed at the GSF, a fourth is under process. The construction technique is described, and some calculational results of organ doses due to external photon irradiation are presented.