Absorbed fraction of radon progeny in human bronchial airways with bifurcation geometry

Abstract

Purpose : The absorbed fraction, defined as the portion of the initial particle energy which is absorbed in the tissue of interest, was calculated, under bifurcation geometry of the airway tubes, for alpha-particles emitted from radon progeny in the human respiratory tract. The results are given for all branching generations and compared with the data obtained for the commonly used infinite straight cylinders adopted by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Report 66. Materials and methods : A model was created to calculate the absorbed fraction of alpha-particle energy in the human lung using bifurcation geometry. Monte Carlo simulations of alpha-particle propagation in tissue and air were performed. The stopping powers of alpha-particles were adopted from the International Commission of Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) Report 49. Results : The absorbed fractions for the bifurcation geometry are given for the 15 generations in the tracheobronchial tree for alpha-particle energies of 6 and 7.69 MeV. The sources were assumed to be the fast and slow moving mucus. Conclusions : Comparisons with ICRP66 data reveal that the assumption of long, straight cylinders was appropriate in some cases, but not in all. Adoption of the absorbed fractions obtained from the bifurcation model instead of the ICRP66 data caused 'redistribution' of doses in the bronchial (BB) and bronchiolar (bb) regions.