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Biomedical subjects

A Perris

Publications and source records attributed to A Perris.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

A survey of 14 computed tomography scanners in Greece and 32 scanners in Italy. Examination frequencies, dose reference values, effective doses and doses to organs.

A survey of examination frequencies, dose reference values, effective doses and doses to organs involving 14 scanners from Greece and 32 scanners from Italy was carried out for the years 1999 and 2000. Examination frequencies per scanner and per year were found to be 3590 for Greece and 4520 for Italy. For the types of examinations considered, CDTI(W) and DLP measurements were taken. Also scan lengths used for the same types of examinations were monitored. For the same types of examinations effective doses were calculated by two methods, and it was found that their mean values ranged from 13.1 mSv for thoracic spine to 1.6 mSv for the brain examinations. From the data of the 14 Greek laboratories, doses to organs were calculated and it was found that the thyroid receives 50.2 +/- 19.8 mGy during a cervical spine examination while the gonads receive 17.8 +/- 6.9 mGy during a routine pelvis examination.

Body Burden↗

Patient dose, image quality and radiographic techniques for common X ray examinations in two Greek hospitals and comparison with European guidelines.

The radiographic technique factors and the quality of each radiographic image for three common examinations (chest PA, pelvis AP and lumbar spine LAT) were compared with the European criteria and entrance surface dose (ESD) was measured for each radiograph in two Greek hospitals. The measurements were carried out using calibrated LiF thermoluminescence dosemeters. The patients were selected so that their weight was close to 70 +/- 10 kg and their height to 170 +/- 10 cm. Effective dose values were calculated using a PC-based Monte Carlo program. All four X ray rooms in the survey achieved mean doses well below the European reference doses. However the mean doses in the X ray rooms differed by a factor of about 3.

Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation↗

Examination frequencies and patient doses from computed tomography examinations in the area of Athens, Greece.

A survey was conducted in the Athens region between the years 1996-1997, in which 33 CT scanner facilities from the 67 operating in this area participated. Examination frequencies from the 33 scanners were 187,875 per year for all types of examinations. Using published estimations for the mean effective dose for each type of examination, it was estimated that the collective dose from the above examinations was about 1,100 person-Sv, which, if projected to the total number of 152 CT scanners operating in Greece at the time of the survey, results in about 0.5 mSv per caput dose each year for the Greek population, which is probably the highest in Europe.

Greece↗

A Monte Carlo estimation of tissue optical properties for use in laser dosimetry.

In certain clinical situations, such as photodynamic therapy, light dosimetry should be considered. The propagation of light in tissues is influenced by fundamental or microscopic optical properties, namely absorption mu a and scattering mu s coefficients, refractive index n and anistropy factor g. These optical parameters can be determined experimentally by direct and/or indirect methods when tissue macroscopic properties, such as reflectance, transmittance or collimated transmittance from a tissue slab, are measured. The method described in this work provides graphical, and in simple cases analytical, 'inverse' solutions to determine tissue microscopic properties from measured macroscopic parameters. The graphs necessary for this inversion have been calculated and are provided. The method can be applied in either direct or indirect techniques and it does not depend on limitations introduced by assumptions and approximations when using theoretical models. It can also be applied for any tissue type, detector geometry and experimental apparatus. The accuracy of the method is very good over a wide range, unlimited in practice, of values of optical properties. Finally, the results of this work are in good agreement with theoretical and experimental results of other investigators.

Animals↗

Dose rate distributions around 60Co, 137Cs, 198Au, 192Ir, 241Am, 125I (models 6702 and 6711) brachytherapy sources and the nuclide 99Tcm.

Simple analytical functions derived from our point source Monte Carlo calculations on the combined attenuation and scatter factor, B exp(-mu r), for 60Co, 137Cs, 198Au, 192Ir, 241Am, 125I (models 6702 and 6711) brachytherapy sources and the nuclide 99Tcm, for water spherical geometries of radii R = 15 and 20 cm, are presented. Our results for the broadly used 60Co, 137Cs, 198Au and 192Ir brachytherapy sources can be compared directly and found in excellent agreement with the widely accepted data of Meisberger et al in the limited distance range for which the latter are valid. Our data, however, can be used with high accuracy outside this distance range. Many discrepancies observed among different data sets available in recent literature are attributable to differences in geometries used. The results for the recently introduced 241Am source are very dissimilar to those produced by any other currently used brachytherapy source. Dose rate distributions, based on the above simple functions, are proposed in accordance with the recommendations for calibration of the brachytherapy sources in terms of reference air kerma rate and were found to be in good agreement with data available in the literature. Our calculations for 125I sources (models 6702 and 6711), provided that the characteristic x-rays from titanium encapsulation are taken into account, support recent experimental and theoretical dose rate distributions indicating that currently accepted values for 125I may be overestimated.

Americium↗

Accurate Monte Carlo calculations of the combined attenuation and build-up factors, for energies (20-1500 keV) and distances (0-10 cm) relevant in brachytherapy.

The combined build-up and attenuation factor, B exp (-mu r), of point isotropic photon sources in a water medium has been calculated using the Monte Carlo method, for energies (20-1500 keV) and distances (1-10 cm) relevant in brachytherapy. For the transport of photons and electrons, up-to-date and self-consistent total, partial and differential cross sections were used. The influence of coherent (Rayleigh) and incoherent (Compton) scattering, as well as the effects of the source and medium geometries on the calculations, were investigated in detail and it was found that these effects can lead to significant deviations from published data, especially at low energies and/or large distances from the sources. Our results can be used for any mono- or multi-energetic photon source in the energy range 20-1500 keV with uncertainties of the order of 2-3%, and they may influence treatment planning especially in the case of organs at risk which are usually near the edge of the body.

Brachytherapy↗

Biological effectiveness of low energy protons. I. Survival of Chinese hamster cells.

The biological effectiveness of monoenergetic protons was investigated with the track-segment method. Protons were accelerated by a Tandem Van de Graaff accelerator and their final energies were 3.0 and 7.4 MeV. The biological system used was Chinese hamster V-79 cells and their survival ability following proton irradiation was investigated. Cobalt-60 gamma-rays were used as reference radiation to assess proton relative biological effectiveness (RBE). Survival curves were obtained for the gamma-ray and proton irradiations, and the relation S = exp (-alpha D-beta D2) was fitted to the data and the parameters alpha and beta were determined. The RBE values, calculated on the basis of the mean inactivation dose D and other pertinent parameters, were found to be 1.7 +/- 0.1 and 2.8 +/- 0.2 for 7.4 and 3.0 MeV protons, respectively. Comparisons were made with the results published by other investigators and it was concluded that in this low energy range the biological effectiveness increases substantially with decreasing proton energy.

Animals↗

A CD-ROM prototype of a multimedia-based interactive tool and guide, to perform quality control tests for the computed tomography scanners.

Quality control tests for CT scanners are very important for correct machine performance, and for the radiation protection of patients and medical personnel. As proliferation of CT scanners continues, the need for distributable software tools to perform quality control tests becomes evident. A multimedia tool and guide will help medical physicists and technologists to perform these tests easily and correctly. The guide can be easily accessible in CD-ROM, or networked on the Internet. The user, medical physicist or technologist, can find in the present guide the pertinent theoretical information and the procedures necessary to perform the quality control tests, with the help of texts, CT images and photographs, narration and video. The results of the tests are automatically compared with machine specifications and acceptable values set by international bodies, and are stored in a table.

CD-ROM↗