title: A specific voxel phantom for in vivo measurements of 241Am in the knee.
abstract: Calibration phantoms for in vivo measurements of low-energy photons should be anatomically realistic to minimise the uncertainties in the activity assessment. The calibration of the detection system can be performed using computational techniques based on numerical phantoms. The purpose of this work is to approach a numerical calibration by Monte Carlo (MC) technique of a Germanium detection system for the determination of 241Am in the knee. A specific voxel phantom was built from a computerised tomography of the calibration Spitz knee phantom. The phantom and the procedure to generate the associated input file for the MC code, namely MCNPX, have been described, as well as the characterisation of the detectors according to the manufacturer data and the energy calibration curves of the spectrometer. The detection efficiency and the pulse-height distribution have been determined for a homogeneous contamination of 241Am in bone.
authors.affiliation: CIEMAT, Avd. Complutense 22, E-28040 Madrid, Spain. montse.moraleda@ciemat.es
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moraleda
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lis
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gómez-Ros
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: López
mesh_terms: D000576:Americium / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D001681:Biological Assay / Q000379:methods; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000378:metabolism*; D008954:Models, Biological; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D012062:Relative Biological Effectiveness; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014915:Whole-Body Counting / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000576:Americium