The instructor and university reserve the right to modify elements of the course during the term.

The university may

change the dates and deadlines for any or all courses in extreme circumstances. If either type of modification
becomes necessary, reasonable notice and communication with the students will be given with explanation and the
opportunity to comment on changes. It is the responsibility of the student to check their McMaster email and course
websites weekly during the term and to note any changes.

2017-2018
Med Phys 4RA3&4RB3/6R03
RADIATION & RADIOISOTOPE METHODOLOGY I, II

(4RA3: Fall term / 4RB3: Winter term) Soo Hyun BYUN

Lecture day & time: see Mosaic timetable TAB 208, soohyun@mcmaster.ca, Ext. 26329
Location: see Mosaic timetable

LECTURES
Med Phys 4RA3:
A. Radioactivity
Radioactive decay, radiation field and interaction quantities, radioactivity production, saturated
activity, growth of daughter activities, transient equilibrium, secular equilibrium.

B. General properties of radiation detectors

Radiation interactions, current and pulse modes, energy resolution, detection efficiency, solid
angle, statistics of counting data (Poisson distribution, time-interval statistics), extending and non-
extending dead time models, detection limit.

C. Gas-filled detectors
• Ionization chambers: W-values, ionization current, guard ring, exposure and dose measurements.
• Proportional counters: Townsend avalanche, Townsend equation, Gas multiplication factor,
counting curve plateau, tissue equivalent proportional counter.
• Geiger-Müller counter: Geiger discharge, quenching gas, Geiger plateau, energy responses of
G-M surveymeters.
• Advanced Gas-filled detectors: Gas Electron Multiplier, THick Gas Electron Multiplier.

D. Scintillation detectors
• Inorganic scintillator: Energy band structure, activators, emission spectra.
• Organic Scintillators: fluorescence mechanism.
• Photosensors: quantum efficiency, photomultiplier tube, photodiodes, silicon photomultiplier tube,
statistics of electron multiplication.

E. Gamma-ray spectrometry with scintillators

• Gamma-ray interactions: photoelectric absorption, Compton scattering, Rayleigh scattering,
pair production, Klein-Nishina differential cross section, Compton edge, Compton continuum,
annihilation photons.
• Detector response: full-energy peak, single escape and double escape peaks, x-ray escape
peak, backscatter peak, perturbation by shielding (characteristic x-ray peaks, annihilation photon
peak), coincidence summing correction, coincidence methods, spectrum analysis methods.

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Med Phys 4RB3:
F. Pulse processing
• Preamp: RC feedback charge sensitive preamp, transistor reset preamp.
• Pulse shaping: delay-line pulse shaping, CR-RC pulse shaping, transfer function, Laplace and
Fourier transforms, pole-zero cancellation, semi-Gaussian pulse shaping, pile-up rejection.
• Peak sensing ADCs: Wilkinson ADC, Successive-Approximation ADC.
• Single-channel analyzer and Multi-channel analyzer.
• Digital pulse processing: moving average filter, trapezoidal filter.
• Pulse timing: leading edge timing, crossover timing, constant fraction timing.

G. Semiconductor detectors
Intrinsic and doped semiconductors, n-type vs p-type, p-n junction, Poisson’s equation, reverse
biasing, depletion depth, silicon diode detectors.

H. Hyper-pure germanium detector

Planar configuration, coaxial configuration, reverse electrode HPGe detectors, theories for energy
resolution and pulse shape

I. Neutron detectors
Neutron sources, neutron interactions for detection, slow neutron detection, fast neutron detection.

LABORATORIES
Med Phys 4RA3:
Preparation of a Reference Beta Source and Operating Characteristics of the GM counter,
Pulse statistics,
Determination of System Dead Time,
Single-Channel Gamma Spectrometry applied to resonance integral measurements,
Multichannel Pulse Spectrometry.

Med Phys 4RB3:

Anti-coincidence low-level counting,
Liquid scintillation counting,
Photon dosimetry and build-up factor,
HyperPure germanium detector,
Gamma camera

Test Schedule:
4RA3 Test 1 & 2: Tues Oct 17, 2017, 2:30-4:30 pm (TBA)
Tues Nov 28, 2017, 2:30-4:30 pm (TBA)
4RB3 Test 1 & 2: Tues Feb 13, 2018, 2:30-4:30 pm (TBA)
Tues March 27, 2018, 2:30-4:30 pm (TBA)

Marking Scheme:
Tests: 60%
Laboratory Reports: 40%
Hard copy ONLY !! Submit to the P&A Department Office.
Get the Date of Submission stamped !

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 Delayed submission: one mark per day (5% a day) penalty

Text: Medical Physics 4RA3,4RB3/6R03 Lecture Notes (available at the course website)

Calculator: Any calculator may be used in tests and examinations.

Academic Dishonesty
Academic dishonesty consists of misrepresentation by deception or by other fraudulent means
and can result in serious consequences, e.g. the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit
with a notation on the transcript (notation reads: “Grade of F assigned for academic dishonesty”),
and/or suspension or expulsion from the university.

It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. For information on

the various kinds of a academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy,
specifically Appendix 3, located at:
http://www.mcmaster.ca/senate/academic/ac_integrity.htm

The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty:

1. Plagiarism, e.g. the submission of work that is not one’s own or for which other credit
has been obtained.
2. Improper collaboration in group work. Copying or using unauthorized aids in tests
and examinations.
3. In this course we will be using a software package designed to reveal plagiarism.
Students will required to submit their work electronically and in hard copy so that it
can be checked for academic dishonesty.”