Calculation of dose conversion factors for doses in the fingernails to organ doses at external gamma irradiation in air

Abstract

Absorbed doses to fingernails and organs were calculated for a set of homogenous external gamma-ray irradiation geometries in air. The doses were obtained by stochastic modeling of the ionizing particle transport (Monte Carlo method) for a mathematical human phantom with arms and hands placed loosely along the sides of the body. The resulting dose conversion factors for absorbed doses in fingernails can be used to assess the dose distribution and magnitude in practical dose reconstruction problems. For purposes of estimating dose in a large population exposed to radiation in order to triage people for treatment of acute radiation syndrome, the calculated data for a range of energies having a width of from 0.05 to 3.5 MeV were used to convert absorbed doses in fingernails to corresponding doses in organs and the whole body as well as the effective dose. Doses were assessed based on assumed rates of radioactive fallout at different time periods following a nuclear explosion.

Retrospective and emergency dosimetry in response to radiological incidents and nuclear mass-casualty events: A review

“…Eakins and Kouroukla (2015) noted that isotropic irradiation, which may be the most realistic case, gave the closest agreement between surface dose (as calculated for a smart phone on the surface of the person's body) and the average, whole-body dose. Similar results were found for the simulations of the whole-body dose and dose to teeth (Takahashi et al, 2001 andTakahashi et al, 2002;Takahashi and Sato, 2012), and fingernails (Khailov et al, 2015).…”

“…For example, photon dose conversion coefficients C were calculated for doses in human teeth by Ulanovsky et al, 2005, Takahashi et al, 2001and Takahashi et al, 2002and Takahashi and Sato (2012. Khailov et al (2015) performed similar calculations of conversion coefficients for doses to human fingernails. Similar calculations to obtain the dose to ceramic components within personal electronic devices for a particular external exposure have been performed by Eakins and Kouroukla (2015) and Eakins et al (2016).…”

“…Ulanovsky et al, 2005, Takahashi et al, 2001and Takahashi et al, 2002and Takahashi and Sato (2012 used Monte Carlo techniques to estimate whole-body doses from absorbed dose to teeth, leading to dose conversion coefficients Cr. Khailov et al (2015) performed similar calculations to determine whole-body and organ doses from doses to fingernails, for a variety of radiation scenarios. Additionally, there have been attempts to evaluate internal organ doses and determine dose conversion factors for personal electronic devices carried by individuals given a particular external exposure (Eakins and Kouroukla, 2015).…”

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) Biodosimetry with Human Teeth: A Crucial Technique for Acute and Chronic Exposure Assessment

“…So, the organ dose conversion coefficients (depending on photon energy and geometry) should be determined using a Monte Carlo code simulating the photon transport in mathematical models (i.e., mathematical anthropomorphic phantoms) of an adult male and an adult female, respectively (Zankl et al 1997; Hurtado et al 2012). The organ dose will provide useful information about the absorbed dose in tooth enamel to corresponding doses in different organs and the whole body and the effective dose (Khailov et al 2015; ICRU 2002). As shown in Fig.…”

Developments in Biodosimetry Methods for Triage With a Focus on X-band Electron Paramagnetic Resonance In Vivo Fingernail Dosimetry

“…Another very promising use of physical dosimetry biodosimetry method is based on a dose dependent radiation-induced signal (RIS) in finger- and toenails as a means for estimating radiation dose, offering the additional advantage of accessing dose distribution in an individual. A large effort has been devoted to the analysis of the RIS in finger and/or toenail clippings (Trompier et al 2007, Romanyukha et al 2010, Choi et al 2014, He et al 2014, Romanyukha et al 2014b, Trompier et al 2014, Khailov et al 2015, Wang et al 2015, Marciniak and Ciesielski 2016, Tipikin et al 2016, Sholom and McKeever 2017). The ability of the clipped nail dosimetry method to estimate dose has been demonstrated in individuals receiving a high radiation dose due to accidental exposure (>10 Gy) (Romanyukha et al 2014b, Trompier et al 2014b).…”