Development of a paediatric head voxel model database for dosimetric applications

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiological Dosimetry
• Computational Biology

Background:

• Accurate radiation dose assessment in pediatric patients is crucial due to rapid physiological changes.
• Existing adult-based phantoms do not adequately represent pediatric anatomical variations.
• Monte Carlo (MC) simulations require detailed, age-specific voxel models for precise dosimetry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a comprehensive database of pediatric head voxel models.
• To facilitate Monte Carlo (MC) dosimetric applications in pediatric radiology.
• To investigate the necessity of age- and gender-specific models for accurate dose calculations.

Main Methods:

• Seventeen pediatric head and neck CT datasets were used to create voxel models.
• Twenty-two organs were segmented, with masses adjusted to ICRP reference values within a 10% tolerance.
• A simulation study using dental cone beam CT data validated the database's applicability.

Main Results:

• The database includes models for ages 2 months to 14 years.
• Organ dose differences exceeding 50% were observed between models of different ages under identical conditions.
• The study confirmed the significant impact of age and gender on radiation dose distribution.

Conclusions:

• A single average pediatric phantom is insufficient for accurate dosimetry across all ages.
• The developed database provides essential age- and gender-specific voxel models for MC dosimetry.
• This resource enhances the precision of organ dose estimations in pediatric head and neck medical exposures.