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Medical Physics / Volume 37 / Issue 8 / RADIATION MEASUREMENT PHYSICS

Med. Phys. 37, 4201 (2010); http://dx.doi.org/10.1118/1.3453578 (9 pages)

Monte Carlo simulator of realistic x-ray beam for diagnostic applications

Marco Bontempi and Andrea Visani

Biomechanics Laboratory, Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, via di Barbiano 1/10, 40136 Bologna, Italy

Lucia Andreani and Pier Luca Rossi

Department of Physics, University of Bologna, viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40137 Bologna, Italy

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(Received 3 December 2009; accepted 20 May 2010; revised 23 April 2010; published online 21 July 2010)

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Purpose: Monte Carlo simulation is a very useful tool for radiotherapy and diagnostic radiology. Yet even with the latest PCs, simulation of photon spectra emitted by an x-ray tube is a time-consuming task, potentially reducing the possibility to obtain relevant data such as dose evaluations, simulation of geometric settings, or monitor detector efficiency. This study developed and validated a method to generate random numbers for realistic beams in terms of photon spectrum and intensity to simulate x-ray tubes via Monte Carlo algorithms.
Methods: Starting from literature data, the most common semiempirical models of bremsstrahlung are analyzed and implemented, adjusting their formulation to describe a large irradiation area (i.e., large field of view) and to take account of the heel effect as in common practice during patient examinations.
Results: Simulation results show that Birch and Marshall’s model is the fastest and most accurate for the aims of this work. Correction of the geometric size of the beam and validation of the intensity variation (heel effect) yielded excellent results with differences between experimental and simulated data of less than 6%.
Conclusions: The results of validation and execution time showed that the tube simulator calculates the x-ray photons quickly and efficiently and is perfectly capable of considering all the phenomena occurring in a real beam (total filtration, focal spot size, and heel effect), so it can be used in a wide range of applications such as industry, medical physics, or quality assurance.

© 2010 American Association of Physicists in Medicine

Article Outline

  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. MATERIAL AND METHODS
    1. Spectrum models
    2. Beam geometry
    3. Heel effect
    4. Beam implementation
    5. Validation tests
      1. Execution time
      2. Model accuracy
      3. Heel effect
  3. RESULTS
  4. CONCLUSIONS
Digital Object Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.1118/1.3453578

KEYWORDS and PACS

Keywords

bremsstrahlung, diagnostic radiography, Monte Carlo methods, physiological models, radiation therapy, Monte Carlo, bremsstrahlung, x-ray production, radiography, beam shaping

PACS

EPAPS

036007MPH_EPAPS.zip (3780 kB) 21-Jul-2010 9:25

README.TXT (2 kB) 22-Jul-2010 12:30

PUBLICATION DATA

ISSN

0094-2405 (print)  

Publisher

$abstract.society.value is a Member of CrossRef American Association of Physicists in Medicine

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Medical Physics is an official science journal of the AAPM and of the COMP/CCPM/IOMP
William R. Hendee, Editor
Departments of Radiology, Radiation Oncology, Biophysics, Community and Public Health, Medical College of Wisconsin
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College Park, Maryland 20740
301-209-3352

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