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Principles of Health Physics I

From Radiological Sciences

Contents 1 Course Title: 2 Course No.: 3 Instructor: 4 Text: 5 Credits: 6 Semester Offered: 7 Recommended References: 8 Evaluation Scheme: 9 Course Outline: 10 List of Topics by Week 11 Course Appendix:

[edit] Course Title:

Principles of Health Physics

[edit] Course No.:

RADI 5020

[edit] Instructor:

Michael Charlton, Ph.D.

[edit] Text:

Introduction to Health Physics, H. Cember, Pergamon Press

[edit] Credits:

3

[edit] Semester Offered:

Spring

[edit] Recommended References:

• Title 10, US Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 19,20 and 35
• Radiation Protection, A Guide for Scientists and Physicians, J. Shapiro, Harvard University Pressw
• NCRP Reports 37, 40, 59, 100, 102, 105, 107 & 116

[edit] Evaluation Scheme:

3 Exams (includes a comprehensive final), selected homework problems, and pop quizzes; Mid-Term Examination; Final Examination

[edit] Course Outline:

Basic principles, practices and regulations regarding protection of workers, patients and the general population from the major forms of ionizing radiation.

[edit] List of Topics by Week

Week

Topic

1. Course Introduction- Historical Perspective, Characterization of Radiation, Basic Radiological Quantities and Units
2. Absorption and Attenuation- photons: broad & narrow beam geometry, energy spectrum of scatter, beam hardening, effective energy and attenuation coefficient, HVT, TVT
3. beta: penetration, density thickness, areal density, energy degradation and bremsstrahlung production; neutron interactions, neutron activation; charged particle interactions
4. Radiation sources- radioactivity: decay modes and consequent radiation production, calculations of decay specific activity and half life, gamma constants and equivalent radium activity, decay chains, transient and secular activity, equilibria, Working Levels (WL) and Working Level Months, cumulated activity; machine production radiation, commonly used radioisotopes
5. Dosimetry for the Health Physicist- external gamma and x-ray sources, DD & TAR calculations, contact skin dose from gammas and betas; internal dosimetry, MIRD system, retention functions, acute & chronic internalization, effective half life, organ system models, respiratory tract and GI tract
6. Instrumentation- gas filled detectors, efficiency determination and use window thickness, dead time corrections, MDA, scintillation detectors, liquid scintillation detectors, TLD’s, film, neutron detectors, counting statistics, regulatory implications
7. Radiation Protection Guides (RPGs) -biological bases of RPGs, Stochastic and non-stochastic effects, risk coefficients and estimates, acceptable risk, BEIR reports, risk vs benefit, Effective Dose Equivalent (EDE); Laws, regulations, recommendations, regulatory guides, regulatory and scientific agencies; RPGs, TEDE, CDE, SDE, DDE, derived limits, MPC, MPBB, ALI, DAC; comparison of ICRP, NCRP and NRC requirements.
8. Components of a Radiation Safety Program- management systems, purpose, RSO, RSC, Administrative Program, Inventory Control Program, Exposure Control Program, Survey Program, Personnel Monitoring Program, Radioactive Waste Disposal Program, Training Programs, Emergency Response, ALARA and QMP
9. ALARA and QMP Programs- requirements, misadministrations and recordable events; other reportable incidents
10. Radiotherapy Radiation Safety- brachytherapy, nonsealed source therapy, Co-60 teletherapy, external beam radiotherapy, HDR, QC requirements
11. Radiation Safety in Diagnostic Radiology- protection of the health care worker, protection of the public, protection of the patient, typical doses and external exposure rates around diagnostic radiography equipment, proper procedures, QC requirements
12. Design and Shielding of Radiographic and Radiotherapy Facilities
13. Radiation Safety in Routine Nuclear Medicine and Research- worker considerations, patient doses. radioactive gases, laboratory safety rules, use of volunteers, approval for research, informed consent, compounding of radiopharmaceuticals, EPA requirements, QC requirements
14. Radiation Safety of Non-ionizing Radiations- ultrasound, MRI, Lasers, high intensity light sources, RF sources
15. Common Problems in Radiation Safety
16. Final Exam

[edit] Course Appendix:

1 set of exams, 1 student evaluation (1 set of experiment descriptions, etc.).

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