Probabilistic approach to obtain hit-size effectiveness functions which relate microdosimetry and radiobiology

A probabilistic approach has been developed to relate microdosimetry, biological effects, and radiation quality. It is used to derive, and subsequently apply, microdosimetry-based cellular response functions for different biological end points of relevance for radiological protection. The approach makes use of measurable microdosimetry spectra and avoids assumptions concerning the course of mechanisms of radiation action. Instead, it postulates a response function that is, and behaves like, the cumulative probability that a subcellular target structure will respond to a specific target-averaged ionization density. Statistical distributions are applied and their parameters are evaluated to characterize the randomness involved in the localization of sensitive sites and in the reactivity of the whole sensitive structure. The resulting response functions can be used for prediction of the effects of low-level radiation. Such predictions for some selected effects of a stochastic nature (mutagenesis, chromosome abnormalities, etc.) are presented as relative biological effectiveness values based on low doses of radiations with a wide range of linear energy transfer and compared with various quality factor specifications. Cellular response relationships, termed hit-size effectiveness functions, can also be applied directly in radiation protection metrology by incorporating them into the software used to process the readings of microdosimetric spectrometers. The derivation of the functions, rather than their uses in radiation protection, is the principal subject of this report.