Specification of Radiation Quality

Abstract

Radiation quality has been commonly expressed in terms of the LET of the ionizing particles that deliver the absorbed dose. The detuiled mechanism of energy loss of charged particles is such that there is a very complex relation between LET and the energy deposited in some small region of the irradiated tissue. The parameter Y is defined as the energy imparted to a small sphere divided by the sphere diameter. Representation of the dose in Y for a range of diameters yields information on the spatial distribution of energy, as well as on the local dose and the frequency with which such a dose is delivered. lt is believed that this representation may prove useful in fundamental radiobiological and radiochemical studies. (auth)