PCXMC. A PC-based Monte Carlo program for calculating patient doses in medical x-ray examinations

TLDR

PCXMC is a Monte Carlo program for calculating patients' organ doses and effective doses in medical x‑ray examinations. PCXMC models dose distribution using a hermaphrodite phantom of six age groups, incorporates ICRP 103 and 60 weighting factors, allows adjustable patient size and beam geometry, and calculates organ and effective doses for radiography and fluoroscopy.

Abstract

PCXMC is a Monte Carlo program for calculating patients' organ doses and effective doses in medical x-ray examinations. The organs and tissues considered in the program are: active bone marrow, adrenals, brain, breasts, colon (upper and lower large intestine), extrathoracic airways, gall bladder, heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, lymph nodes, muscle, oesophagus, oral mucosa, ovaries, pancreas, prostate, salivary glands, skeleton, skin, small intestine, spleen, stomach, testicles, thymus, thyroid, urinary bladder and uterus. The program calculates the effective dose with both the present tissue weighting factors of ICRP Publication 103 (2007) and the old tissue weighting factors of ICRP Publication 60 (1991). The anatomical data are based on the mathematical hermaphrodite phantom models of Cristy and Eckerman (1987), which describe patients of six different ages: new-born, 1, 5, 10, 15-year-old and adult patients. Some changes are made to these phantoms in order to make them more realistic for external irradiation conditions and to enable the calculation of the effective dose according to the new ICRP Publication 103 tissue weighting factors. The phantom sizes are adjustable to mimic patients of an arbitrary weight and height. PCXMC allows a free adjustment of the x-ray beam projection and other examination conditions of projection radiography and fluoroscopy