• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.24-27
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• 2010

Purpose: Early diagnosis of breast is of the utmost importance to improve prognosis. We have a limitation for mammography and sonography detecting small cancer. Clinical importance of Breast Specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI) has improved for that reason. So We studied performance evaluation test of count rate and resolution with high sensitivity to the low dose of BSGI. Materials and Methods: BSGI of Dilon 6800, point source of $^{99m}Tc$ from 1.85~148 MBq (0.05~4 mCi) at the intervals of 1.85~37 MBq (0.05~1 mCi) was used for the test. Performance evaluation method was performed for measuring deadtime for choosing at the 5 different point in the useful field of view (UFOV), acquired image for 60 seconds. Compared with reference of clinical uptake distribution of breast, activity increased according to the distance change 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 mm in the useful field of view. Results: Counting curve increased according to the activity from 1.85 MBq (0.05 mCi) to the 74 MBq (2 mCi), and it change flat shape over 74 MBq (2 mCi). The variation of the full width of half maximum (FWHM) to the distance is 4.05, 4.73, 5.77, 6.90, 8.00, 9.32 mm in 1.85 MBq (0.05 mCi), 4.30, 4.80, 5.90, 7.00, 8.10, 9.07 mm in 3.7 MBq (0.1 mCi), 4.90, 5.60, 6.20, 7.20, 8.20, 9.10 mm in 5.55 MBq (0.15 mCi), 5.30, 6.10, 6.60, 7.00, 7.90, 8.70 mm in 7.40 MBq (0.2 mCi). Conclusion: Distortions of image would be acquired because of the deadtime in BSGI. We found out the fact that specification of $^{99m}Tc$ reaction under 74 MBq (2 mCi) for BSGI. Second, FWHM distribution change from varied distance from the detector, clearly distinguished the location of the lesion.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.405-410
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• 2022

In brachytherapy, a radiation source is inserted into the body to kill tumor tissue. Therefore, it is important to accurately measure the location of the source and the dose distribution. In this study, a dosimeter that can be used for brachytherapy was developed using CsPbBr₃ which is cheaper than the existing detector materials and has a simpler manufacturing process. The CsPbBr₃ dosimeter performance was evaluated by analyzing reproducibility, linearity, and distance dependence in ¹⁹²Ir source. As a result of reproducibility evaluation, the RSD was 1.36%, which satisfies the standard value of 1.5%. As a result of the linearity evaluation, the R² value was 0.9993, which satisfies the standard R² of 0.9990. The distance dependence evaluation showed a signal value that decreased exponentially as the distance increased. The evaluation results show that the CsPbBr₃ dosimeter satisfies the evaluation criteria and can be used as a brachytherapy quality assurance dosimeter.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.51-61
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• 2009

A Compton camera, which is based on the geometrical interpretation of Compton scattering, is a very promising gamma-ray imaging device considering its several advantages over the conventional gamma-ray imaging devices: high imaging sensitivity, 3-D imaging capability from a fixed position, multi-tracing functionality, and almost no limitation in photon energy. In the present study, a Monte Carlo-based, user-friendly Compton imaging simulator was developed in the form of a graphical user interface (GUI) based on Geant4 and $MATLAB^{TM}$. The simulator was tested against the experimental result of the double-scattering Compton camera, which is under development at Hanyang University in Korea. The imaging resolution of the simulated Compton image well agreed with that of the measured image. The imaging sensitivity of the measured data was 2~3 times higher than that of the simulated data, which is due to the fact that the measured data contains the random coincidence events. The performance of a stacking-structure type Compton camera was evaluated by using the simulator. The result shows that the Compton camera shows its highest performance when it uses 4 layers of scatterer detectors.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.100-109
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• 1999

Purpose: Preamplifier and amplifier are very important parts for developing a portable counting or imaging gamma probe. They can be used for analyzing pulses containing energy and position information for the emitted radiations. The commercial Nuclear Instrument Modules (NIMs) can be used for processing these pulses. However, it may be improper to use NIMs in developing a portable gamma probe, because of its size and high price. The purpose of this study was to develop both preamplifier and amplifier and measure their performance characteristics. Materials and Methods: The preamplifier and amplifier were designed as a charge sensitive device and a capacitor resistor-resistor capacitor (CR-RC) electronic circuit, respectively, and they were mounted on a print circuit board (PCB). We acquired and analyzed energy spectra for Tc-99m and Cs-137 using both PCB and NIMs. Multichannel analyzer (Accuspec/A, Canberra Industries Inc., Meriden Connecticut, U.S.A) and scintillation detectors (EP-047(Bicron Saint-Gobain/Norton Industrial EP-047 (Ceramics Co., Ohio, U.S.A) with $2"{\times}2"$ NaI(T1) crystal and R1535 (Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Electron Tube Center, Shizuoka-ken, Japan) with $1"{\times}1"$ NaI(T1) crystal were used for acquiring the energy spectra. Results: Using PCB, energy resolutions of EP-047 detectors for Tc-99m and Cs-137 were 12.92% and 5.01%, respectively, whereas R1535 showed 13.75% and 5.19% of energy resolution. Using the NIM devices, energy resolutions of EP-047 detector for Tc-99m and Cs-137 were measured as 14.6% and 7.58%, respectively. However, reliable energy spectrum of R1535 detector could not be acquired, since its photomultiplier tube (PMT) requires a specific type of preamplifier. Conclusion: We developed a special preamplifier and amplifier suitable for a small sized gamma probe that showed good energy resolutions independent of PMT types. The results indicate that the PCB can be used in developing both counting and imaging gamma probe.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.338-343
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• 2004

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a small animal PET using dual layer phoswich detector to minimize parallax error that degrades spatial resolution at the outer part of field-of-view (FOV). Materials and Methods: A simulation tool GATE (Geant4 Application for Tomographic Emission) was used to derive optimal parameters of small PET, and PET was developed employing the parameters. Lutetium Oxyorthosilicate (LSO) and Lutetium-Yttrium Aluminate-Perovskite(LuYAP) was used to construct dual layer phoswitch crystal. $8{\times}8$ arrays of LSO and LuYAP pixels, $2mm{\times}2mm{\times}8mm$ in size, were coupled to a 64-channel position sensitive photomultiplier tube. The system consisted of 16 detector modules arranged to one ring configuration (ring inner diameter 10 cm, FOV of 8 cm). The data from phoswich detector modules were fed into an ADC board in the data acquisition and preprocessing PC via sockets, decoder block, FPGA board, and bus board. These were linked to the master PC that stored the events data on hard disk. Results: In a preliminary test of the system, reconstructed images were obtained by using a pair of detectors and sensitivity and spatial resolution were measured. Spatial resolution was 2.3 mm FWHM and sensitivity was 10.9 $cps/{\mu}Ci$ at the center of FOV. Conclusion: The radioactivity distribution patterns were accurately represented in sinograms and images obtained by PET with a pair of detectors. These preliminary results indicate that it is promising to develop a high performance small animal PET.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.71-77
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• 2001

The region, near the edge of a radiation beam, where the dose changes rapidly according to the distance from the beam axis is known as the penumbra. There is a sharp dose gradient zone even in megavoltage photon beams due to source size, collimator, lead alloy block, other accessories, and internal scatter ray. We investigate dosimetric characteristics on penumbra regions of a standard collimator and compare to those of theoritical model for the optimal use of the system in radiotherapy. Peripheral dose distribution of 6 W Photon beams represents penumbral forming function as the depth. Also we have discussed that the peripheral dose distribution of clinical photon beams, differences between calculation dose use of emperical penumbral forming function and measurements in penumbral region. Predictions by emperical penumbral forming functions are compared with measurements in 3-dimensional water phantom and it is shown that the method is capable of reproduceing the measured peripheral dose values usually to within the statistical uncertainties of the data. The semiconductor detector and ion chamber were positioned at a dmax depth, 5cm depth, 10cm depth, and its specific ratio was determined using a scanning data. The effective penumbra, the distance from 80% to 20% isodose lines were analyzed as a function of the distance. The extent of penumbra will also expand with depth increase. Difference of measurement value and model functions value according to character of the detector show small error in dose distribution of the peripheral dose.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.290-297
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• 1997

In this study, the radiation monitoring system using CsI(TI) scintillation counter is developed for the measurement of radiation distribution in the field of high dose level. When the inner diameter of collimator is 8 mm, we have realized the optimum detecting efficiency and spatial resolution. At that time, the position resolution was 10 cm at 1 m from the system. And experimental results indicated that the energy resolution of the system were 10 % for 662 keV of Cs-137, 7.6 % for 1.17 MeV of Co-60, and 5.8 % for 1.33 MeV of Co-60. Also, we have shown that the real radiation distribution images may be obtained by our measurement system.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.205-210
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• 2000

Measurements of phase identification and degree of orientation for fine-grained (about 0.3 mm in diameter) minerals in rock samples performed by micro-area X-ray diffractometer.$Al_{2}SiO_{5}$ polymorphs (andalusite, kyanite and sillimanite) were chosen for the measurements and target minerals were existed on thin sections. Micro-area X-ray diffractometer is composed of 3(${\omega}\;{\chi}\;{\phi}$)-circle oscillating goniometer and position sensitive proportional counter (PSPC). $CuK_{\alpha}$ radiation was used as X-ray source and a pin hole ($50\;\mu\textrm{m}$$ in diameter) collimator was selected to focus radiation X-ray onto the target minerals. Phase identification and diffracted X-ray peak indexing were carried out by 3(${\omega}\;{\chi}\;{\phi}$)-circle oscillation measurement. Then, 2(${\omega}\;{\phi}$)-circle oscillation measurement was made for the purpose of searching the prevailing lattice plane of the minerals on thin section surface. Finally, for a selected peak by 2-circle oscillation measurement, X-ray pole figure measurement was executed for the purpose of check the degree of orientation of the single lattice direction and examine its pole distribution. As a result of 3-circle oscillation measurement, it was possible that phase identification among $Al_{2}SiO_{5}$ polymorphs. And from the results of 2-circle oscillation measurement and X-ray pole figure measurement, we recognized that poles of andalusite (122), kyanite (200) and sillimanite (310) lattice plances were well developed with direction normal to each mineral surface plane respectively. Therfore, the measurements used with micro-area X-ray diffractometer in this study will be a useful tool of phase identification and degree of orientation measurement for fine-grained rock forming minerals.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 2013

Purpose: High-energy radiotherapy with 10 MV or higher develops photoneutron through photonuclear reaction. Photoneutron has higher radiation weighting factor than X-ray, thus low dose can greatly affect the human body. An accurate dosimetric calculation and consultation are needed. This study compared and analyzed the dose change of photoneutron in terms of space according to the size of photon beam energy and treatment methods. Materials and Methods: To measure the dose change of photoneutron by the size of photon beam energy, patients with the same therapy area were recruited and conventional plans with 10 MV and 15 MV were each made. To measure the difference between the two treatment methods, 10 MV conventional plan and 10 MV IMRT plan was made. A detector was placed at the point which was 100 cm away from the photon beam isocenter, which was placed in the center of $^3He$ proportional counter, and the photoneutron dose was measured. $^3He$ proportional counter was placed 50 cm longitudinally superior to and inferior to the couch with the central point as the standard to measure the dose change by position changes. A commercial program was used for dose change analysis. Results: The average integral dose by energy size was $220.27{\mu}Sv$ and $526.61{\mu}Sv$ in 10 MV and 15 MV conventional RT, respectively. The average dose increased 2.39 times in 15 MV conventional RT. The average photoneutron integral dose in conventional RT and IMRT with the same energy was $220.27{\mu}Sv$ and $308.27{\mu}Sv$ each; the dose in IMRT increased 1.40 times. The average photoneutron integral dose by measurement location resulted significantly higher in point 2 than 3 in conventional RT, 7.1% higher in 10 MV, and 3.0% higher in 15 MV. Conclusion: When high energy radiotherapy, it should consider energy selection, treatment method and patient position to reduce unnecessary dose by photoneutron. Also, the dose data of photoneutron needs to be systematized to find methods to apply computerization programs. This is considered to decrease secondary cancer probabilities and side effects due to radiation therapy and to minimize unnecessary dose for the patients.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.209-218
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• 2008

According to improved radiation therapy technology such as IMRT and proton therapy, the accuracy of patient alignment system is more emphasized and IGRT is dominated research field in radiation oncology. We proposed to study the feasibility of cone-beam CT system using simple x-ray imaging systems for image guided proton therapy at National Cancer Center. 180 projection views ($2,304{\times}3,200$, 14 bit with 127 ${\mu}m$ pixel pitch) for the geometrical calibration phantom and humanoid phantoms (skull, abdomen) were acquired with $2^{\circ}$ step angle using x-ray imaging system of proton therapy gantry room ($360^{\circ}$ for 1 rotation). The geometrical calibration was performed for misalignments between the x-ray source and the flat-panel detector, such as distances and slanted angle using available algorithm. With the geometrically calibrated projection view, Feldkamp cone-beam algorithm using Ram-Lak filter was implemented for CBCT reconstruction images for skull and abdomen phantom. The distance from x-ray source to the gantry isocenter, the distance from the flat panel to the isocenter were calculated as 1,517.5 mm, 591.12 mm and the rotated angle of flat panel detector around x-ray beam axis was considered as $0.25^{\circ}$. It was observed that the blurring artifacts, originated from the rotation of the detector, in the reconstructed toomographs were significantly reduced after the geometrical calibration. The demonstrated CBCT images for the skull and abdomen phantoms are very promising. We performed the geometrical calibration of the large gantry rotation system with simple x-ray imaging devices for CBCT reconstruction. The CBCT system for proton therapy will be used as a main patient alignment system for image guided proton therapy.