Development of a new integrated IN-VIVO counting system at the QST

Abstract

A new in-vivo counting system that functions as both a whole-body counter (WBC) and a lung counter (LC) was developed at the QST to enhance its dose assessment capability. This paper presents an overview of this system and the results of its performance tests. For use of the system as a WBC, three high purity germanium (HPGe) detectors installed in a 20-cm-thick iron shielding chamber are linearly arrayed over a subject lying on the bed, whereas two of the three HPGe detectors are placed over the subject's chest from side to side when using the system as an LC. The new in-vivo system was calibrated using three de-facto phantoms owned by the QST: an adult-male BOttle Manikin ABsorption (BOMAB) phantom, a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) phantom and a Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) phantom. Monte Carlo simulations were also performed to determine an optimum location for the three detector array in the WBC mode and revealed that the peak efficiency for the BOMAB phantom (662 keV) was little varied as long as the middle detector was placed above the thorax and abdomen parts of the phantom. The calculated peak efficiencies agreed well with the observed peak efficiencies for photons with energies over 100 keV. For lung counting, a tentative Minimum Detectable Activity of 241Am was evaluated as 9.5 Bq for a counting time of 30 minutes, and a Japanese male subject with an average chest wall thinness (2.27 cm). The developed system is now ready for use.