PERFORMANCE OF THE VARSKIN 5 (v5.3) ELECTRON DOSIMETRY MODEL.

Abstract

A new electron skin dosimetry model was developed for the VARSKIN 5 tissue dosimetry code. This model employs energy deposition kernels that provides for improved accuracy of energy deposition at the end of electron tracks. The Monte Carlo code EGSnrc was utilized to develop these energy deposition kernels such that scaling of electron energy loss is dependent on effective atomic number and density of the source material, electron range and conservation of energy. This work contrasts VARSKIN's electron dosimetry model to several existing deterministic and Monte Carlo dosimetry tools to determine the efficacy of these improvements. Comparison results are given for a wide range of scenarios that extend beyond the typical use of VARSKIN, including mono-energetic electrons and a homogenous water medium. For planar and point sources in contact with the skin, VARSKIN produces results equated to other dosimetry methods within 10%. However, it appears that VARSKIN is unable to account accurately for electron energy loss with the introduction of a cover material or an air gap. The comparisons herein confirm that VARSKIN provides accurate electron dose calculations for skin-contamination scenarios.