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Development of alimentary tract organs for ICRP pediatric mesh-type reference computational phantoms
Chansoo Choi1, Bangho Shin1, Yeon Soo Yeom2
1Department of Nuclear Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Insights
New computational models of pediatric alimentary tract organs improve radiation dose calculations. These mesh-type reference computational phantoms (MRCPs) offer enhanced anatomical detail for more accurate dosimetry in children.
Area of Science:
- Medical Physics
- Radiological Protection
- Computational Modeling
Background:
- Accurate radiation dosimetry in pediatric populations is crucial for health risk assessment.
- Existing computational models may lack the anatomical detail necessary for precise dose estimation in children.
- International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) guidelines necessitate updated models for pediatric dosimetry.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop advanced alimentary tract organs for pediatric mesh-type reference computational phantoms (MRCPs).
- To enhance anatomical accuracy and include micrometre-scale regions for improved radiation dose calculations.
- To assess the dosimetric impact of these new models compared to existing ICRP computational phantoms.
Main Methods:
- Created new alimentary tract organ models (oral cavity, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon) for pediatric reference computational phantoms.
- Ensured preservation of original topology and shape while incorporating anatomical improvements.
- Computed organ doses and specific absorbed fractions for external (photons, electrons) and internal (electrons) exposures.
Main Results:
- Good agreement (within 10%) for external penetrating radiation doses, except for oral mucosa.
- Significant differences (up to ~8300-fold) observed for external weakly penetrating radiation exposures due to enhanced MRCP anatomy.
- Substantial differences (up to ~73,000-fold) found for internal electron exposures, attributed to geometric and target mass variations.
Conclusions:
- The developed pediatric MRCPs provide significant anatomical improvements over existing voxel-type reference computational phantoms (VRCPs).
- These enhanced models lead to considerable dosimetric differences, particularly for weakly penetrating and internal electron exposures.
- The new MRCPs are expected to improve the accuracy of radiation dose assessments in pediatric individuals.
Abstract:
In line with the activities of Task Group 103 under the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), the present study was conducted to develop a new set of alimentary tract organs consisting of the oral cavity, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, and colon for the newborn, 1 year-old, 5 year-old, 10 year-old, and 15 year-old males and females for use in the pediatric mesh-type reference computational phantoms (MRCPs). The developed alimentary tract organs of the pediatric MRCPs, while nearly preserving the original topology and shape of those of the pediatric voxel-type reference computational phantoms (VRCPs) of ICRPPublication 143, present considerable anatomical improvement and include all micrometre-scale target and source regions as prescribed in ICRPPublication 100. To investigate the dosimetric impact of the developed alimentary tract organs, organ doses and specific absorbed fractions were computed for certain external exposures to photons and electrons and internal exposures to electrons, respectively, which were then compared with the values computed using the current ICRP models (i.e. pediatric VRCPs and ICRP-100 stylised models). The results showed that for external exposures to penetrating radiations (i.e. photons >0.04 MeV), there was generally good agreement between the compared values, within a 10% difference, except for the oral mucosa. For external exposures to weakly penetrating radiations (i.e. low-energy photons and electrons), there were significant differences, up to a factor of ∼8300, owing to the geometric difference caused by the anatomical enhancement in the MRCPs. For internal exposures of electrons, there were significant differences, the maximum of which reached a factor of ∼73 000. This was attributed not only to the geometric difference but also to the target mass difference caused by the different luminal content mass and organ shape.
