Protection against Ionizing Radiation

Lecturer:

Tutor:

Supervisor:

Department of medical branches and humanities

Synopsis:

General properties of radiation, Radiation sources, Interaction of gamma rays with matter, Interaction of charged particles with matter, Photon and electron beams passing through an absorber, Quantities and units used in dosimetry and radiation protection, Operational quantities for staff, working and environmental monitoring, Dose measurement, Cavity chamber theory, Determination of activity and source strength, Internal radiation exposure, Shielding of photon sources, Monte- Carlo method, Absorbed dose estimation in photon and electron clinical beams

Requirements:

Knowledges covering the extent of the course.

Syllabus of lectures:

1.Ionizing radiation, general properties of radiation, radiation effects in matter, biological effects of ionizing radiation.

2.Radiation sources, radionuclides, linear accelerators, circular accelerators, neutron generators.

3.Interaction of gamma rays with matter, photoelectric absorption, Compton scattering, coherent scattering, pair production, cross sections, attenuation coefficients, energy transfer coefficient, energy absorption coefficient.

4.Interaction of charged particles with matter, ionization, excitation, Bremsstrahlung production, range of electrons and heavy particles, linear stopping power.

5.Photon and electron beams passing through an absorber, Build up factor, Build up factor as a function of energy and Zeff , albedo.

6.Quantities and units used in dosimetry and radiation protection, description of radiation sources and radiation fields, particle fluence, energy fluence.

7.Quantities that characterise interaction of ionising radiation with matter, energy imparted, absorbed dose, kerma, exposure, quantities used in radiation protection, equivalent dose, effective dose, weighting factors.

8.Operational quantities for staff, working and environmental monitoring, basic concepts of radiation protection, individual limits.

9.Dose measurement, cavity chamber theory, equilibrium of charge particles, Bragg-Gray cavity theory, its results and definitions.

10.Determination of activity and source strength, measurement of dosimetrical units, dose, kerma, exposure, measurement of operational quantities for staff, working and environment monitoring, surface contamination.

11.ALARA principle, internal radiation exposure, calculation of dosimetrical units for radiation exposure, individual limits.

12.Shielding of photon sources, shielding of charge particle sources, calculation on way of reducing radiation exposure, dimensioning of shielding.

13.Partial step of radiation transport, Monte- Carlo method, random numbers, integral solution by Monte-Carlo method, gamma ray transport by Monte- Carlo method.

14.Absorbed dose estimation in photon and electron clinical beams, determination of beam energy, parameter influencing estimation of absorbed doses, practical implication of dosimetry protocols, quality assurance of calibration process.

Syllabus of tutorials:

Study Objective:

To introduce students into the radiation protection and dosimetry with a view to application in radiodiagnostics and radiotherapy

Study materials:

[1] Dorschel, B., Schuricht, V: Steuer, J., The Physics of Radiation Protection, Nuclear Technology Publishing, 1996

[2] Martin, J, E.: Physics for Radiation Protection, John Wiley and Sons, 2000

[3] Introduction to Radiological Physics and Radiation Dosimetry, F.H. Attix, Wiley Publisher, 1996

Note:

Further information:

No time-table has been prepared for this course

The course is a part of the following study plans:

• Bakalářský studijní obor Biomedicínský technik - kombinované (compulsory course)