title: Dose point kernel simulation for monoenergetic electrons and radionuclides using Monte Carlo techniques.
abstract: Monte Carlo (MC) simulation has been commonly used in the dose evaluation of radiation accidents and for medical purposes. The accuracy of simulated results is affected by the particle-tracking algorithm, cross-sectional database, random number generator and statistical error. The differences among MC simulation software packages must be validated. This study simulated the dose point kernel (DPK) and the cellular S-values of monoenergetic electrons ranging from 0.01 to 2 MeV and the radionuclides of (90)Y, (177)Lu and (103 m)Rh, using Fluktuierende Kaskade (FLUKA) and MC N-Particle Transport Code Version 5 (MCNP5). A 6-μm-radius cell model consisting of the cell surface, cytoplasm and cell nucleus was constructed for cellular S-value calculation. The mean absolute percentage errors (MAPEs) of the scaled DPKs, simulated using FLUKA and MCNP5, were 7.92, 9.64, 4.62, 3.71 and 3.84 % for 0.01, 0.1, 0.5, 1 and 2 MeV, respectively. For the three radionuclides, the MAPEs of the scaled DPKs were within 5 %. The maximum deviations of S(N←N), S(N←Cy) and S(N←CS) for the electron energy larger than 10 keV were 6.63, 6.77 and 5.24 %, respectively. The deviations for the self-absorbed S-values and cross-dose S-values of the three radionuclides were within 4 %. On the basis of the results of this study, it was concluded that the simulation results are consistent between FLUKA and MCNP5. However, there is a minor inconsistency for low energy range. The DPK and the cellular S-value should be used as the quality assurance tools before the MC simulation results are adopted as the gold standard.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Imaging and Radiological Science, China Medical University, 40402 Taichung, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Y L
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.forename: S Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000528:radiation effects; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000528:radiation effects; D004583:Electrons; D006801:Humans; D008187:Lutetium / Q000032:analysis; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D011868:Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D011874:Radiometry / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012238:Rhodium / Q000032:analysis; D012984:Software; D015021:Yttrium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D011868:Radioisotopes; D015021:Yttrium Radioisotopes; D008187:Lutetium; D012238:Rhodium