The effective attenuation coefficient of soft tissue in the presence of Compton scattering from bone: experiments on...

Calibration methods are investigated for the determination of bone density by the Compton scattering method. The scattered radiation from materials of different densities and dimensions is measured for this purpose. A function for the dependence of the intensity on these parameters is derived and compared with the experimental results. The influence of the surrounding soft tissue is studied by simulation experiments with water. It is found that the 'effective attenuation coefficient' of water for the incident and scattered radiation depends on the thickness of the surrounding water layer itself, as well as on the density of the scattering material. The implications of these findings for the evaluation of bone density measurements are discussed.