DOSE COEFFICIENTS FOR LIVER CHEMOEMBOLISATION PROCEDURES USING MONTE CARLO CODE

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Interventional Radiology
• Radiation Dosimetry

Background:

• Liver chemoembolization is a common procedure for liver cancer treatment.
• Accurate estimation of radiation dose is crucial for patient safety and risk management.
• Understanding organ doses helps in optimizing imaging protocols and minimizing radiation exposure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the radiation burden on patients undergoing liver chemoembolization.
• To determine organ dose and effective dose conversion factors normalized to dose-area product (DAP).
• To provide data for patient-specific radiation dose assessments in these procedures.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a Monte Carlo transport code with an adult mathematical phantom.
• Incorporated exposure data from 32 patients to simulate radiation exposure.
• Calculated equivalent organ doses (H_T) and effective doses (E) based on individual DAP values.

Main Results:

• The lumbar spine, liver, and kidneys were identified as the organs receiving the highest doses.
• The mean effective dose conversion factor was determined to be 1.4 Sv Gy^-1 m^-2.
• Dose conversion factors were successfully estimated for chemoembolization procedures.

Conclusions:

• Estimated dose conversion factors can effectively assess patient-specific radiation burden.
• The findings provide valuable data for radiation protection in liver chemoembolization.
• Further research can refine these factors for more precise dose estimations.