2011 International Nuclear Atlantic Conference - INAC 2011

Belo Horizonte,MG, Brazil, October 24-28, 2011

ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE ENERGIA NUCLEAR - ABEN
ISBN: 978-85-99141-04-5

A COMPARISON BETWEEN GEANT4 AND MCNPX ON THE

DOSIMETRY OF THE 192IR MICROSELECTRON V2 HDR
BRACHYTHERAPY

Maximiano C. Martins1, Artur F. de Menezes1, Ademir X. da Silva1, Denison de

S. Santos2 e Pedro P. de Queiroz Filho2, Helio Salmon3 and Guilherme Pavan3

1
Programa de Engenharia Nuclear – PEN \ COPPE
Universidade Federal do estado do Rio de Janeiro
Centro de Tecnologia, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão
CEP 21949 – 900 – Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
maximiano@gmail.com
ademir@con.ufrj.br
arturfismed@yahoo.com.br
2
Instituto de Radioproteção e Dosimetria (IRD / CNEN - RJ)
Av. Salvador Allende s/n - Jacarepaguá
CEP - 22780-160 Rio de Janeiro – RJ, Brasil
santosd@ird.gov.br
queiroz@ird.gov.br
3
Clínicas Oncológicas Integradas (COI)
MD.X Barra Medical Center
Av. das Américas, 6.205 Loja E - Barra da Tijuca
CEP- 22793-080 - Rio de Janeiro - RJ
guilhermepavan@coinet.com.br
heliosalmon@coinet.com.br

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this work is to study the dosimetric parameters of the 192Ir microSelectron V2 High Dose Rate
(HDR) Brachytherapy source. Two Monte Carlo codes, Geant4 and MCNPX, were used to simulate the dose
quantities recommended by American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Task Group 43 (TG-43).
The geometry source, detectors to collect the information of interest and the water phantom were simulated. The
absorbed dose and the air-kerma strength were calculated to obtain the dose rate constant. The electrons
influence are evaluated for different cutoffs of energy and in the vicinity of the source where there is a lack of
electronic equilibrium.

1. INTRODUCTION

The radiotherapy is a therapeutic procedure capable of destroying a tumor cell using a

radiation beam. A radiation dose previously calculated is applied, at a given time, to a tissue
volume encompassing the tumor to destroy the tumor tissue while producing the least
possible damage to adjacent normal tissues [1].
The brachytherapy consists of a radiotherapy technique in which one or more radioactive
sources consisting of an outer encapsulation of high atomic number are positioned inside or
near the tumor volume allowing the treatment optimization while providing the lowest dose
to normal adjacent tissues [1].

The radioisotope Iridium-192 has been widely used for high dose rate brachytherapy (HDR)
allowing the treatment of small tumor volumes effectively and accurately reaching the
clinical requirements necessary for the total destruction of tumor tissue [2,3,4].

There are currently several manufacturers of Iridium-192 sources which allowed, due to its
favorable dosimetric properties, its consolidation as a complementary tool to external beam
radiotherapy treatment for different types of tumors such as prostate tumors, breast, anus,
cervix, ovary, among others.

Another advantage of the brachytherapy is the use of the afterloading system remotely, which
allows the collection of the source after treatment without the presence of the staff and other
workers in the treatment room, avoiding undesirable occupational exposure. The activity of
the sources can range from 1 to 10 Ci [4], allowing the treatment be performed in a few
minutes enabling the quickly release of the treated patient.

Recently, several studies in brachytherapy have been directed to the study of dose
distributions around the sources. In parallel to experimental work the American Association
of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM TG - 43) [5,6] recommends the study and characterization
of the dosimetric parameters of brachytherapy sources using Monte Carlos Code in
heterogeneous media which allows the reduction of uncertainties associated with the value of
the dose delivered to the target volume, always trying to minimize the damage to the patient
undergoing these techniques [7,8,9,10,11,12].

2. METHODOLOGY

2.1. GEANT4

The Geant4 (Geometry and Tracking) [13] is a package of computational tools freely
distributed by CERN (European Nuclear Research Center) to simulate the passage of the
radiation (particle or electromagnetic wave) in the matter.
In this study we used the Monte Carlo code Geant4 Standard version 9.4. We considered the
following interaction processes: Compton Scattering, Gamma Conversion, Photo Electric
Effect for photons, Multiple Scattering, Ionisation and Bremsstrahlung for electrons and
positron and the latter was also used eplusAnnihilation.

2.2. MCNPX

The particle transport code MCNPX (version 2.5) [14] used in this work is a combination
version of the code MCNP4C LAHET (Los Alamos High-Energy Transport), which

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simulates the transport and interaction of nucleons, muons, pions and light ions in complex
geometries and extends the capabilities of MCNP.
This code contains all the capabilities of the MCNP4C and MCNP5 codes and can simulate
the transport of photons, electrons, neutrons, protons, light ions, and processes of interaction
of charged particles with matter to the wide range of energies [15].

2.3. TLD

For this work 15 TLD-100 Harshaw dosimeters and the reading equipment belonging to the
Semex-IRD-CNEN were used. The calibration, reading and evaluation were performed by
the person responsible for the external dosimetry sector. The TLDs were separated into five
groups of three units (Figure 1).

Figure 1 . Badge containing 3 TLDs 100.

2.4. Source HDR from “Clínicas Oncológicas Integradas” (COI)

The brachytherapy source used in this study was the Ir-192 HDR MicroSlectron V2
(Figure 2), which has 0.9 mm diameter of encapsulation and 4.5 mm in length and an
iridium core of 0.65 mm in diameter and 3.6 mm in length.

The source used in this work belongs to the IOC (Integrated Clinical Oncology) located in
Barra da Tijuca – Rio de Janeiro. At the time of the simulation the source activity was 7.367
Ci (Figure 3).

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 Figure 2. 192Ir MicroSelectron V2 HDR Source

Figure 3. The Nucleotron AfterLoading System.

2.5. Water Phantom

The experimental measurements were performed using a cubic phantom, filled with water,
with dimensions of 40x40x40 cm ³ consisting of an acrylic wall thickness of 8 mm (Figure 4).
For the experimental measures 3 TLDs were positioned in the central region of each lateral
side of the phantom mentioned.

The irradiation was performed with Ir-192 source positioned within a catheter fixed by three
nylon wire in the central region of the phantom filled with water. We used an irradiation time
of 452 s.

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Figure 4. View of the experimental apparatus used for the correct positioning of the Ir-192 source within
the water phantom.

2.6. Validation of IR-192 Source

2.6.1. Benchmark with Geant4 and MCNPX to obtain the dose rate constant
dosimetric parameter of the HDR source 192Ir MicroSelectron V2.

In this work we used the GEANT4 and MCNPX codes based on the Monte Carlo method to
simulate the 192Ir MicroSelectron V2 HDR brachytherapy source. From the modeling of the
geometry of the source and using the emission spectrum of the 192Ir was possible to obtain
the dose rate constant dosimetric parameters, which is a crucial for treatment planning using
high dose rate brachytherapy (HDR).

The motivation for this work were based on the recommendations of the Task Group No. 43
Protocol of "American Association of Physicists in Medicine" AAPM regarding the
importance of using the Monte Carlo method for reducing uncertainties associated with the
delivered dose to the brachytherapy treatment. The results obtained by both codes agree with
other results in the literature using the Monte Carlo method.

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 
D (ro ,θ o )
2.6.2. Simulation of the dose rate Constant dosimetric parameter Λ =
Sk

The dose rate constant depends of the radionuclides and the source model used and is
influenced by the internal geometry of the source and the experimental methodology used for
the determination of SK. Unit standard: cGy / HU.

The determination of the dose rate constant ( Λ ) using the Monte Carlo Method is obtained

by the ratio between the dose rate (ro ,θo ) obtained at 1 cm from the transverse axis of the
D

source P(ro ,θo ) by the amount of ar kerma Sk at 100 cm of the source (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Coordinate system used for dosimetric calculations in brachytherapy.


The intensity of kerma is defined as the product of kerma rate K ar (d) , at a distance d,
measured along the transverse axis of the source multiplied by the square of the distance d
according the following equation:


S k = K ar (d)  d 2 (1)

Its numerical value is identical to the reference rate of air kerma (Reference Air Kerma Rate,
or AKR). Unit standard: 1 Gy m2h-1 = 1U

The distance measurement should be large enough so that the distance d is greater than the
linear dimension of the source so that Sk is independent of the distance d, thus the air kerma
can be given in terms of the reference distance, which is commonly used as the distance of
1 m.

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2.6.3. Calculation of Dose Rate constant and Kerma Intensity

The dose rate D (ro ,θo ) , using the Geant4 code, was obtained considering detectors in the
form of concentric rings arranged at 1 cm from the source positioned at the origin of the
coordinate system instead of single voxel detector positioned at P(ro ,θo ) as illustrated in
Figure 6. The simulation was performed considering 109 events.

This methodology was used to optimize the computer simulation time. Considering that the
source is isotropic, it is possible to obtain a greater number of events with detectors arranged
in a ring shape and positioned in the region of interest. The intensity of air kerma was
calculated taking into account the recommendations of Taylor et al 2008 [12] and Rogers et
al 2007 [9] with the detector positioned 1 m from the source.

Figure 6. View of the methodology used to calculate the dose rate at 1 cm from the source.

The particle count for the fluency calculation were made on 4 detectors in the form of
voxels with dimensions of 10 x 10 x 0.05 cm3 positioned 1 m symmetrically arranged
around the source as illustrated in Figure 7.

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 Figure 7. View of the geometry used to determine the intensity of kerma Sk.

2.6.4. Dose rate constant using the MCNP

To determine the dose rate constant using the MCNP code was used an idealized
methodology. The dose rate constant was obtained by the ratio between the dose rate,
obtained by a point detector (tally F5) positioned at 1 cm from the source considering the
simulator medium consisting of water (Figure 8), by the kerma intensity measured at 100
cm from the irradiation source considering the medium simulator as vacuum as show in
figure 9.

Figure 8. Illustration of geometry used to determine the dose rate at 1 cm from the transverse axis of the
source in a simulator consisting of water.

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 Figure 9. Illustration of geometry used to determine the kerma intensity at 100 cm from the transverse
axis of the source in a simulator consisting of vacuum.

2.6.5. Spectrum of Ir-192 source using the code MCNP

The 192Ir spectrum was determined using the tally F4 on a spherical surface of radius 5 cm
considering the medium simulator consisting of vacuum with the source positioned at the
origin of the coordinate system.

3. RESULTS

Figures 9 and 10 show the images, obtained using the graphic viewer Moritz and
OpenInventor, for sources modeled using Geant4 and MCNPX Monte Carlo codes
respectively.

Figure 9: View, using the OpenInventor graphic viewer, of the 192Ir source modeled using
the Geant4 code.

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 Figure 10. View, using the Moritz graphic viewer, of the Ir-192 source modeled
using the MCNP code.

3.1. Benchmarking of Simulated Spectra

The energy spectrum of photons (Figure 11) was weighted according to the following
equation 2:

(dR (Ej) / dE) / R = Σ Ei / (ΔE R) ( 2)

Where: Ej is the energy of the middle of the bin, Ei is the energy of the ith photon that
escape of the encapsulation or cable with energies between Ej ± ΔE / 2 and ΔE is the bin
width.
The spectrum is normalized to the total energy radiated by the source, R (total energy of the
photons to escape the encapsulation or cable) per unit MeV-1.
Results of both codes were compared with those obtained by Rogers et al using the EGSnrc
code.

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Figure 11: Graphs showing the spectra comparison obtained from different Monte
Carlo codes.

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3.2. Comparative Study of Dose Rate Constant Simulated Using the Geant4 and MCNP

Table 1 presents the results of dose rate constant obtained for a distance of 1 cm from the 192Ir
source compared with different results presented in the literature. Also are presented a
comparative study of the ratio Dose/Sk, recently used as a reference in the literature, obtained
for the distance of 0.2 cm from the source.

Table 1. The dose rate constant.

Abs.
Author Method Λ (cGy h-1 U-1) Uncertainty

R. E. P. Taylor, ro= 1 cm; voxel at 100 cm 1.1090 0.002

D. W. O. Rogers [10,9]
ro = 0.2 cm; voxel at 100 cm 22.7300 0.02

G. M. Daskalov et al [3,2] extrap 1.1080 0.001

Ruqing Wang, X. Allen Li [11] ro = 0.2 cm; voxel at 100 cm 22.7500 0.03

This Work Geant4 ro = 1 cm; voxel at 100 cm 1.1008 0.004

This Work Geant4 ro = 0.2 cm; voxel at 100 cm 22.1839 0.004

This Work MCNPX ro = 1 cm; voxel at 100 cm 0.990 -

This Work MCNPX ro = 0.2 cm; voxel at 100 cm 20.4040 -

3.3. Experimental measurements using water phantom and TLDs dosimeters

We also simulated a geometry of a cubic water phantom (as shown in Figure 4), with 4 sets
of TLDs and results were compared with experimental measurements performed in the
radiotherapy service belonging to COI (Clínica Oncológica Integrada).

The results of the air kerma obtained with the Geant4 code were compared with experimental
results obtained with TLD dosimeters.

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Because of the TL dosimeters used, belonging to the Institute of Radioprotection and
Dosimetry (IRD), were calibrated in a Cesium-137 source, It was necessary to apply a
correction factor for energy dependence on the simulated results. After correcting the results,
the Geant4 value was closer to the experiments with 9.19 % difference, as shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Monte Carlo X Experimental Arrangement

Experimental
Error
Kerma (cGy) TLD (cGy)
(%)
With energy dependence correction (Geant4) 4.41 9.19
Without correction (Geant4) 4.32 4.86 11.0

MCNPX 3.94 23.3

4. CONCLUSION

The results for the modeling of the Ir192 Nucletron MicroSelectron V2 HDR sources using
the Geant4 code obeying the recommendations of the TG43 dosimetry protocol proved to be
satisfactory given the small discrepancy with the results obtained by other studies in the
literature. The results obtained for the MCNPX code showed a greater discrepancy when
compared with the literature. Possible differences to the results were already expected, since
a different methodology was adopted. However a deeper analysis of the geometry and the
methodology used should be performed.

The spectrum obtained using the code Geant4 showed satisfactory results with the literature.
The spectra obtained using the MCNP code showed a slightly larger discrepancy, however,
there was a coincidence of major peaks of emission and the dose rate constant present in the
order of the literature results.

In general, the results obtained using the Geant4 code had minor discrepancies when
compared with the results obtained in the literature. The results obtained using the MCNP
code showed a major discrepancy, which shows that the idealized methodology used in this
work may have contributed to the largest discrepancies in the results when compared with the
literature.

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