| Summary: | The rising desire for individualized medical physics models has sparked a
transition from the use of tangible phantoms toward the employment of computational
software for medical physics applications. One such computational software for
radiation transport modeling is the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) radiation transport
code. However, no comprehensive document has been written to introduce the use of
the MCNP code for simulating medical physics applications. This document, a primer,
addresses this need by leading the medical physics user through the basic use of MCNP
and its particular application to the medical physics field.
This primer is designed to teach by example, with the aim that each example will
illustrate a practical use of particular features in MCNP that are useful in medical
physics applications. These examples along with the instructions for reproducing them
are the results of this thesis research. These results include simulations of: dose from
Tc-99m diagnostic therapy, calculation of Medical Internal Radiation Dose (MIRD)
specific absorbed fraction (SAF) values using the ORNL MIRD phantom, x-ray
phototherapy effectiveness, prostate brachytherapy lifetime dose calculations, and a
radiograph of the head using the Zubal head phantom. Also included are a set of appendices that include useful reference data, code syntax, and a database of input decks
including the examples in the primer. The sections in conjunction with the appendices
should provide a foundation of knowledge regarding the MCNP commands and their
uses as well as enable users to utilize the MCNP manual effectively for situations not
specifically addressed by the primer.
|
|---|
