Relative Biological Effectiveness of Various Qualities of Radiation as Determined by the Electroretinogram

Abstract

The acute and irreversible effects on the electroretinogram were used to determine the relative biological effectiveness of 100-kvp, 250-kvp, and 2000-kvp x-rays on the rabbit's visual cells. The results obtained by this method are similar to those obtained by histologi- cal determination of cell death. In this system, the relative biological efficiency was found to increase with decreasing linear energy transfer. The average values determined were 0.722 plus or minus 0.011 for 100 kvp x rays, 1.00 for 250-kvp x rays, and 1.30 plus or minus 0.02 and 1.31 plus or minus 0.08 for x rays generated at 2000 kvp when the radiation was presented to the eye anterior-posteriorly and posterioranteriorly, respectively. (auth)