HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 2462070256v1 246/2/434    most recent Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sechopoulos, I. Articles by Karellas, A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sechopoulos, I. Articles by Karellas, A.

Radiation Dose to Organs and Tissues from Mammography: Monte Carlo and Phantom Study¹

¹ From the Department of Radiology and Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Ga (I.S., S.S., S.V., C.J.D., A.K.); and Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Ga (I.S., A.K.). Received February 6, 2007; revision requested April 11; revision received April 26; accepted May 29; final version accepted July 9. Supported in part by National Institutes of Health grant RO1-EB004015 from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. Supported by a grant from the Georgia Cancer Coalition. Address correspondence to A.K., Department of Radiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North S2-836, Worcester, MA 01655 (e-mail: Andrew.Karellas{at}umassmed.edu).

Purpose: To prospectively determine the radiation dose to the organs of the body during standard bilateral two-view mammography by using Monte Carlo simulations and a phantom.

Materials and Methods: A modified version of the Cristy mathematic anthropomorphic phantom was implemented in the Geant4 Monte Carlo tool kit to simulate the conditions present in screen-film and digital mammography. The breast was simulated with compression in both the craniocaudal and the mediolateral oblique views. X-rays were tracked from the source until their absorption in the body or in the detector or their exit from the simulation limits, with recording of all the intermediate interactions in the body. The simulation was performed with x-rays of energy ranging from 6 to 35 keV to obtain results for clinically relevant spectra. The ratio of dose to an organ in the body per unit glandular dose to the breast, denoted the relative organ dose (ROD), was computed. The effect of using a body protective shield was also investigated.

Results: The organs that received an ROD of 0.10% or higher in at least one view and one spectrum were the contralateral breast, ipsilateral eye and eye lens, heart, ipsilateral lung, and thymus. Among the organs, the maximum ROD was 0.62%. The maximum ROD for the bone surfaces was 2.36% and that for the red bone marrow was 0.56%. The highest ROD measured for the uterus or fetus at the first trimester was less than 10^–5.

Conclusion: The radiation dose to all tissues other than the breast is extremely low. The dose to the first-trimester fetus is minimal.

© RSNA, 2007