Determination of photon conversion factors relating exposure and dose for several extremity phantom designs

Dosimetric measurements were performed to determine the exposure-to-dose conversion factors (Cx) for simple extremity phantoms suitable for extremity dosimeter performance testing. The phantoms studied represented the forearm or lower leg and the finger. Measurements were performed for solid plastic phantoms and for phantoms containing simulated bone material to determine the effect of backscattered radiations from the simulated bone to the phantom surface. Photon beam energies used for the measurements ranged from 16 keV to 1.25 MeV (average). The Cx factors for the finger phantoms did not vary significantly with phantom composition. The Cx factors in the arm/leg phantoms with the bone simulant material differed significantly from those for the solid plastic phantom over the energy range of 40-100 keV. This effect was attributed to the preferential absorption of the lower energy backscattered photons by the higher atomic number material that was contained in the bone-simulant insert. The position of the bone-simulating material below the surface of the phantom was more important than its size or level of bone equivalency. For calibrations and dosimeter testing, Al was found adequate as a bone-simulating material.