Skip Navigation

Radiation Protection Dosimetry 2004 112(4):509-517; doi:10.1093/rpd/nch092
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Broerse, J. J.
Right arrow Articles by Zoetelief, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Broerse, J. J.
Right arrow Articles by Zoetelief, J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Radiation Protection Dosimetry Vol. 112, No. 4 © Oxford University Press 2004; all rights reserved

Dose inhomogeneities for photons and neutrons near interfaces

J. J. Broerse1,2 and J. Zoetelief1,*

1 Delft University of Technology, IRI, Mekelweg 15, 2629 JB Delft, The Netherlands
2 Department of Clinical Oncology, LUMC, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands

* Corresponding author: j.zoetelief{at}iri.tudelft.nl

Perturbations of charged particle equilibrium (CPE) at interfaces of materials of different atomic composition can lead to considerable differences in the energy deposition by photons and neutrons. Specific examples of these interface perturbations are encountered during irradiation of body cavities and soft tissue adjacent to bone or metallic implants and irradiation of cells in monolayer on the bottom of culture dishes. Another example is the build-up of CPE at air–tissue interfaces, referred to in radiotherapy as the skin sparing effect. For photon irradiation excess production of secondary electrons in high-Z materials, such as glass, bone or gold, will induce appreciably higher doses and decreased cell survival compared to the equilibrium situation.

The energy dissipation of fast neutrons in biological materials occurs through recoil protons, heavy recoil nuclei and products of nuclear reactions. Owing to the large contribution from recoil protons to the neutron kerma, the hydrogen content of the biological material mainly determines the energy deposition. For neutron irradiation of cells in monolayer, CPE can be established or deliberately avoided by mounting tissue-equivalent plastic or carbon discs in front of the cells, respectively. This approach makes it possible to distinguish the biological effects of the low- and high-LET radiation components.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.