Monte Carlo estimation of radiation doses during paediatric barium meal and cystourethrography examinations

Abstract

Organ doses are important quantities in assessing the radiation risk. In the case of children, estimation of this risk is of particular concern due to their significant radiosensitivity and the greater health detriment. The purpose of this study is to estimate the organ doses to paediatric patients undergoing barium meal and micturating cystourethrography examinations by clinical measurements and Monte Carlo simulation. In clinical measurements, dose–area products (DAPs) were assessed during examination of 50 patients undergoing barium meal and 90 patients undergoing cystourethrography examinations, separated equally within three age categories: namely newborn, 1 year and 5 years old. Monte Carlo simulation of photon transport in male and female mathematical phantoms was applied using the MCNP5 code in order to estimate the equivalent organ doses. Regarding the micturating cystourethrography examinations, the organs receiving considerable amounts of radiation doses were the urinary bladder (1.87, 2.43 and 4.7 mSv, the first, second and third value in the parentheses corresponds to neonatal, 1 year old and 5 year old patients, respectively), the large intestines (1.54, 1.8, 3.1 mSv), the small intestines (1.34, 1.56, 2.78 mSv), the stomach (1.46, 1.02, 2.01 mSv) and the gall bladder (1.46, 1.66, 2.18 mSv), depending upon the age of the child. Organs receiving considerable amounts of radiation during barium meal examinations were the stomach (9.81, 9.92, 11.5 mSv), the gall bladder (3.05, 5.74, 7.15 mSv), the rib bones (9.82, 10.1, 11.1 mSv) and the pancreas (5.8, 5.93, 6.65 mSv), depending upon the age of the child. DAPs to organ/effective doses conversion factors were derived for each age and examination in order to be compared with other studies.