Evaluación del efecto de la interpolación log-lineal en las capas de valor medio mediante simulación de Monte Carlo

The half-value layer (HVL), an indicator of X-ray quality, is defined as the thickness of an aluminum (Al) filter that reduces the air kerma by half and is used to calculate the backscatter coefficient. HVL is determined from the attenuation curve of air kerma using log-linear interpolation. However, there are no references detailing the specific measurement method. This study aims to investigate the impact of varying the interval of Al filters used in the log-linear interpolation on the HVL, using Monte Carlo simulations. The Monte Carlo simulation was performed using Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System (PHITS) Ver. 3.29. A photon point source was placed in the air, and the rectangular irradiation field was set to 5×5 cm at the detector position. The detector, simulated as a volume of 1 cm³ of air, was positioned 100 cm from the source. The Al filter thickness for the HVL was varied in increments of 0.1 mm. The HVL was calculated by linear interpolation, and the relative error was determined based on the minimum Al spacing. The X-ray tube voltages used were those of the RQR series (40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 120, and 150 kV). The beam qualities obtained from the measurements and the Monte Carlo simulation system were consistent with those specified for the RQR series in IEC 61267 within ±3.5%. The relative error of HVL for each tube voltage determined by simulation ranged from -0.5 to 4.6%, with a mean±standard deviation (median) of 1.12±0.95% (0.88%). The relative error was larger when the difference between the Al filter combinations was large and the interpolation coefficient α was 0.5. When the filter spacing is less than half the HVL, the accuracy of log-linear interpolation in HVL is less than ±1.5% relative error.