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Accuracy of Monte Carlo simulations compared to in‐vivo MDCT dosimetry
Author(s) -
Bostani Maryam,
Mueller Jonathon W.,
McMillan Kyle,
Cody Dianna D.,
Cag Chris H.,
DeMarco John J.,
McNittGray Michael F.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.4906178
Subject(s) - monte carlo method , thermoluminescent dosimeter , dosimetry , nuclear medicine , medicine , radiation transport , medical physics , mathematics , statistics , dosimeter
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy of a Monte Carlo simulation‐based method for estimating radiation dose from multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) by comparing simulated doses in ten patients to in‐vivo dose measurements. Methods: MD Anderson Cancer Center Institutional Review Board approved the acquisition of in‐vivo rectal dose measurements in a pilot study of ten patients undergoing virtual colonoscopy. The dose measurements were obtained by affixing TLD capsules to the inner lumen of rectal catheters. Voxelized patient models were generated from the MDCT images of the ten patients, and the dose to the TLD for all exposures was estimated using Monte Carlo based simulations. The Monte Carlo simulation results were compared to the in‐vivo dose measurements to determine accuracy. Results: The calculated mean percent difference between TLD measurements and Monte Carlo simulations was −4.9% with standard deviation of 8.7% and a range of −22.7% to 5.7%. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate very good agreement between simulated and measured doses in‐vivo . Taken together with previous validation efforts, this work demonstrates that the Monte Carlo simulation methods can provide accurate estimates of radiation dose in patients undergoing CT examinations.