DEVELOPMENT OF HYBRID COMPUTATIONAL NEWBORN PHANTOM FOR DOSIMETRY CALCULATION: THE SKELETON

Computational phantoms have been used for decades in computing organ doses from occupational, medical, and accidental exposures from internal and external radiation sources. The evolution of computational phantoms began with mathematically based stylized phantoms, which allowed for organ repositioning and shape, but were anatomically unrealistic. Then, with the advent of image-based segmentation and more powerful computer processors, voxel-based phantoms utilizing 3D voxel matrices provided realistic anatomy, but at the expense of limited organ transformations. Current technology has led to the development of hybrid computational phantoms which combine the flexibility of organ redefinition in stylized phantoms and anatomical realism in voxel-based phantoms. The purpose of this study is to apply the Non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) advanced mathematical modeling tool to the University of Florida’s voxel newborn phantom to replace the simple mathematical equations used in stylized phantoms, while preserving anatomical detail. ICRP Publications 70 and 89 report limited reference pediatric whole skeleton data based on uncertain assumptions. However in this study