• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.159-167
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• 2014

In Korea, July 2012, the law as called 'Act on Safety Control of Radioactive Rays Around Living Environment' was implemented to control the consumer product containing Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM), but, there are no appropriate database and effective dose calculation system. The aim of this study was to develop evaluation technique of the exposure dose with the use of the consumer products containing NORM and to understand the characteristics of the exposed dose according to the radiation type and energy. For the evaluate of exposure dose, the ICRP reference phantom was simulated by the MCNPX code based on Monte Carlo method, and the minimum, medium, maximum energy of alphas, betas, gammas from the representative NORM of Uranium decay series were used as the source term in the simulation. The annual effective doses were calculated by the exposure scenario of the consumer product usage time and position. Short range of the alpha and beta rays are mostly delivered the dose to the skin. On the other hand, the gamma rays mostly delivered the similar dose to all of the organs. The results of the annual effective dose with $1Bq{\cdot}g^{-1}$ radioactive stone-bed and 10% radioactive concentration were employed with the usage time of 7 hours 50 minute per day, the maximum annual effective dose of alphas, betas, gammas were calculated 0.0222, 0.0836, $0.0101mSv{\cdot}y^{-1}$, respectively.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.50-57
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• 2010

Mercuric chloride, a model nephrotoxicant was used to elucidate time- and dose- dependent global gene expression changes associated with proximal tubular toxicity. Rat kidney cell lines NRK-52E cells were exposed for 2, 6 and 12 hours and with 3 different doses of mercuric chloride. Cell viability assay showed that mercuric chloride had toxic effects on NRK-52E cells causing 20% cell death (IC20) at $40{\mu}M$ concentration. We set this IC20 as high dose concentration and 1/5 and 1/25 concentration of LC20 were used as mid and low concentration, respectively. Analyses of microarray data revealed that 738 genes were differentially expressed (more than two-fold change and p<0.05) by low concentration of mercuric chloride at least one time point in NRK-52E cells. 317 and 2,499 genes were differentially expressed at mid and high concentration of mercuric chloride, respectively. These deregulated genes showed a primary involvement with protein trafficking (CAV2, CANX, CORO1B), detoxification (GSTs) and immunity and defense (HMOX1, NQO1). Several of these genes were previously reported to be up-regulated in proximal tubule cells treated with nephrotoxicants and might be aid in promoting the predictive biomarkers for nephrotoxicity.

• Journal of Haehwa Medicine
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.171-184
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• 2013

Single-and repeated-dose toxicities of Compound K (CK) were evaluated according to Toxicity Test Guidelines of Korea Food and Drug Administration using Sprague-Dawley rats. For single-dose toxicity study, CK was dissolved in drinking water, orally administered and examined for 14 days. As results, CK up to a dose of 5,000 mg/kg, the limited dose, neither induced death, clinical signs and necropsy findings, nor affected body weight gain and organ weights, in which 10% lethal dose could not be estimated. Based on the results of single-dose toxicity test, CK was administered at doses of 500, 1,000 or 2,000 mg/kg for 28 days for the evaluation of repeated-dose toxicity. All doses including the limited dose (2,000 mg/kg) of CK did not cause any abnormalities of rats, including mortality, clinical signs, body weight gain, feed/water consumption, necropsy findings, organ weights, hematology, blood biochemistry. Rather, high doses (1,000 - 2,000 mg/kg) of CK reduced the serum levels of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), creatinine phosphokinase (CPK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and triglycerides, in addition to an increase in glucose, indicative of protective effects on hepatic and muscular injuries. Thus, both maximum tolerable dose (MTD) and no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) were not determined. The results indicate that long-term intake of high-dose CK might not induce general adverse effects.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.271-277
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• 2019

CareDose 4D which is the Siemens's Automatic Exposure Control (AEC) can adjust the level of radiation dose distribution which is based on organ characteristic unlike other manufacturer's AEC. Currently, a wide scan range containing different organs is sometimes examined at once (defined as one scan). The purpose of this study was to figure out which organ characteristic option is suitable when one scan method is utilized. Two types of anthropomorphic phantoms were scanned in the same range which were from frontal bone to carina level according to three different organ characteristics such as Thorax, Abdomen, and Neck. All scans and image reconstruction parameters were equally applied and radiation dose were compared. Radiation dose with Thorax organ characteristic was lower than that with Neck. Also, that with Abdomen oran characteristic was lower than Thorax. There were significant differences in radiation dose according to different organ characteristics at the same parameters (P<0.05). Usage of Neck organ characteristic had a result of the highest radiation dose to all phantom. On the other hand, utilization of Abdomen organ characteristic showed the lowest radiation dose. As a result, it is desirable to set appropriate organ characteristic according to examined body part when you checkup patients. Also, when you implement one scan method, selection of Abdomen-based organ characteristic has reduced more radiation dose compared with two different organ characteristic.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.153-159
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• 2018

Objectives: This study was carried out to determine $LD_{50}$ of benzo[a]pyrene to decide the possibility to designate them as toxic substance on the Act on the Registration and Evaluation, etc. of Chemical Substances, and to suggest that they should be managed in what level on the Chemical Control Act. Methods: Based on the result of a preliminary study, 300 mg/kg was set as the middle dose. A highest dose of 2,000 mg/kg and a lowest dose of 50 mg/kg were selected based on the OECD TG 423. Benzo[a]pyrene was orally administered once to female and male SD rats at dose levels of 50, 300, 2,000 mg/kg (body weight). All animals were monitored daily for clinical signs and mortality over 14 days. Also testicular spermatid count, motility and etc. were examined as well. Results: Under the condition of this experiment, $LD_{50}$ of benzo[a]pyrene was assumed to be >2,000 mg/kg. In the lesion according to autopsy, there were no specific symptoms in the control and experimental groups. At 2,000 mg/kg, a decrease in the sperm motility was observed. Benzo[a]pyrene should be designated to be toxic substance as the material assumed to be reproduction-toxicity on the Act on the Registration and Evaluation, etc. of Chemicals. Therefore we should abide by legal procedures determined by Chemicals Control Act in treating it. Conclusion: Considering the significant result that sperm motility in the experimental group was inferior to that in the reference group, we suggest that benzo[a]pyrene be designated as a toxic substance.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.983-993
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• 2021

Objective: To investigate the image quality of ultralow-dose CT (ULDCT) of the chest reconstructed using a cycle-consistent generative adversarial network (CycleGAN)-based deep learning method in the evaluation of pulmonary tuberculosis. Materials and Methods: Between June 2019 and November 2019, 103 patients (mean age, 40.8 ± 13.6 years; 61 men and 42 women) with pulmonary tuberculosis were prospectively enrolled to undergo standard-dose CT (120 kVp with automated exposure control), followed immediately by ULDCT (80 kVp and 10 mAs). The images of the two successive scans were used to train the CycleGAN framework for image-to-image translation. The denoising efficacy of the CycleGAN algorithm was compared with that of hybrid and model-based iterative reconstruction. Repeated-measures analysis of variance and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were performed to compare the objective measurements and the subjective image quality scores, respectively. Results: With the optimized CycleGAN denoising model, using the ULDCT images as input, the peak signal-to-noise ratio and structural similarity index improved by 2.0 dB and 0.21, respectively. The CycleGAN-generated denoised ULDCT images typically provided satisfactory image quality for optimal visibility of anatomic structures and pathological findings, with a lower level of image noise (mean ± standard deviation [SD], 19.5 ± 3.0 Hounsfield unit [HU]) than that of the hybrid (66.3 ± 10.5 HU, p < 0.001) and a similar noise level to model-based iterative reconstruction (19.6 ± 2.6 HU, p > 0.908). The CycleGAN-generated images showed the highest contrast-to-noise ratios for the pulmonary lesions, followed by the model-based and hybrid iterative reconstruction. The mean effective radiation dose of ULDCT was 0.12 mSv with a mean 93.9% reduction compared to standard-dose CT. Conclusion: The optimized CycleGAN technique may allow the synthesis of diagnostically acceptable images from ULDCT of the chest for the evaluation of pulmonary tuberculosis.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.511-521
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• 2022

Decommissioning of nuclear power plants generates a large amount of radioactive waste in a short period. Moreover, Radioactive waste has various forms including a large volumes of metal, concrete, and solid waste. The disposal of decommissioning waste using 200 L drums is inefficient in terms of economics, work efficiency, and radiation safety. Therefore, The Korea Radioactive Waste Agency is developing large containers for the packaging, transportation, and disposal of decommissioning waste. Assessing disposability considering the characteristics of the radioactive waste and facility, convenience of operation, and safety of workers is necessary. In this study, the exposure dose rate of workers during the disposal of new containers was evaluated using Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport code. Six normal and four abnormal scenarios were derived for the assessment of the dose rate in a near surface disposal facility operation. The results showed that the calculated dose rates in all normal scenarios were lower than the direct exposure dose limitation of workers in the safety analysis report. In abnormal scenarios, the work hours with dose rates below 20 mSv·y^-1 were calculated. The results of this study will be useful in establishing the optimal radiation work conditions.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.289-295
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• 2018

When using a mobile X-ray unit, primary radiation creates medical images and secondary radiation scatters in many directions, which reduces image quality and causes exposure to patients, care givers and medical personnel. The purpose of this study was to develop a radiation shielding system for effectively shielding secondary radiation and evaluate its effectiveness. Using a mobile X-ray unit, spatial dose according to presence of human equivalent phantom and spatial dose using the developed shielding device were measured, and the phantom at 80 cm equidistance from center of X-ray was compared with spatial dose according to use of a shield. Measurements were taken at intervals of 10 cm every $30^{\circ}$ from the head direction($-90^{\circ}$) to the body direction($+90^{\circ}$). In the spatial dose measurement with and without the phantom, when the human equivalent Phantom was used, the spatial dose was increased by 40% in all directions from 40 cm to 100 cm from the central X-ray, and about 88% of the space dose was reduced when using the developed shields with the phantom. The equidistance dose at 80 cm from the central X-ray was increased by 39% from $5.1{\pm}0.26{\mu}Gy$ to $7.1{\pm}0.15{\mu}Gy$ when the human equivalent phantom was used, and when phantom was used and shielding was used, the spatial dose was reduced by about 90% from $7.1{\pm}0.15{\mu}Gy$ to $0.7{\pm}0.07{\mu}Gy$. The spatial dose of natural radiation was measured to be about $0.2{\pm}0.04{\mu}Gy$ when using the developed shielding with Phantom at a distance of 1 m or more. It is expected that by using the developed shielding system, it will be possible to effectively reduce secondary radiation dose received in all directions and to ensure safe imaging.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.129-134
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• 2018

The present study made a phantom for gamma ray of 140 keV radiated from $^{99m}Tc$, examined shielding effect of lead by thickness of the shielding material, and measured surface dose and depth dose by body depth. The OSL Nano Dot dosimeter was inserted at 0, 3, 15, 40, 90, and 180 mm depths of the phantom, and when there was no shield, 0.2 mm lead shield, 0.5 mm lead shield, The depth dose was measured. Experimental results show that the total cumulative dose of dosimeters with depth is highest at 366.24 uSv without shield and lowest at 94.12 uSv with 0.5 mm lead shield. The shielding effect of 0.2 mm lead shielding was about 30.18% and the shielding effect of 0.5 mm lead shielding was 74.30%, when the total sum of the accumulated doses of radiation dosimeter was 100%. The phantom depth and depth dose measurements showed the highest values at 0 mm depth for all three experiments and the dose decreases as the depth increases. This study proved that the thicker a shielding material, the highest its shielding effect is against gamma ray of 140 keV. However, it was known that shielding material can't completely shield a body from gamma ray; it reached deep part of a human body. Aside from the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) recommending depth dose by 10 mm in thickness, a plan is necessary for employees working in department of nuclear medicine where they deal with gamma ray, which is highly penetrable, to measure depth dose by body depth, which can help them manage exposed dose properly.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.68-77
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• 2024

Background: Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is essential for correcting and verifying patient position before radiation therapy. However, it poses additional radiation exposure during CBCT scans. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate radiological safety for the human body through dose assessment for CBCT. Materials and Methods: For CBCT dose assessment, the depth dose was evaluated using a cheese phantom, and the dose in the orbital area was evaluated using a human body phantom self-fabricated with a three-dimensional printer. Results and Discussion: The evaluation of radiation doses revealed maximum doses of 14.14 mGy and minimum doses of 6.12 mGy for pelvic imaging conditions. For chest imaging conditions, the maximum doses were 4.82 mGy, and the minimum doses were 2.35 mGy. Head imaging conditions showed maximum doses of 1.46 mGy and minimum doses of 0.39 mGy. The eyeball doses using a human body phantom model averaged at 2.11 mGy on the left and 2.19 mGy on the right. The depth dose ranged between 0.39 mGy and 14.14 mGy, depending on the change in depth for each imaging mode, and the average dose in the orbit area using a human body phantom was 2.15 mGy. Conclusion: Based on the experimental results, CBCT did not significantly affect the radiation dose. However, it is important to maintain a minimal radiation dose to optimize radiation protection following the as low as reasonable achievable principle.