Development of a patient-specific dosimetry estimation system in nuclear medicine examination

The purpose of this study is to develop a patient-specific dosimetry estimation system in nuclear medicine examination using a SimSET-based Monte Carlo code. We added a dose deposition routine to store the deposited energy of the photons during their flights in SimSET and developed a user-friendly interface for reading PET and CT images. Dose calculated on ORNL phantom was used to validate the accuracy of this system. The S values for ^99mTc, ¹⁸F and ¹³¹I obtained by the system were compared to those from the MCNP4C code and OLINDA. The ratios of S values computed by this system to those obtained with OLINDA for various organs were ranged from 0.93 to 1.18, which are comparable to that obtained from MCNP4C code (0.94 to 1.20). The average ratios of S value were 0.99±0.04, 1.03±0.05, and 1.00±0.07 for isotopes ¹³¹I, ¹⁸F, and ^99mTc, respectively. The simulation time of SimSET was two times faster than MCNP4C´s for various isotopes. A 3D dose calculation was also performed on a patient data set with PET/CT examination using this system. Results from the patient data showed that the estimated S values using this system differed slightly from those of OLINDA for ORNL phantom. In conclusion, this system can generate patient-specific dose distribution and display the isodose curves on top of the anatomic structure through a friendly graphic user interface. It may also provide a useful tool to establish an appropriate dose-reduction strategy to patients in nuclear medicine environments.