The development and use of fifteen year-old equivalent mathematical phantom for internal dose calculations

Abstract

The existence of a phantom based on anatomical data for the average fifteen year-old provides for a proficient means of obtaining estimates of absorbed dose for children of that age. Dimensions representative of an average fifteen year-old human, obtained from various biological and medical research, were transformed into a mathematical construct of idealized shapes of the exterior, skeletal system, and internal organs of a human. The idealization for an average adult presently in use by the International Commission on Radiological Protection was used as a basis for design.

The mathematical equations describing the phantom were developed to be readily adaptable to present-day methods of dose estimation. Typical exposure situations in nuclear medicine have previously been modeled for existing phantoms. With no further development of the exposure model necessary, adaptation to the fifteen year-old phantom demonstrated the utility of the design. Estimates of absorbed dose were obtained for the administration of two radiopharmaceuticals, ^99mTc-Sulfur Colloid and ^99mTc-DMSA.