BME6938–RADIOLOGICALPHYSICS,MEASUREMENTS,ANDDOSIMETRY‐FALL2012
CourseDescription (3Credits)
Interactions and measurement techniques for x‐rays, gamma rays, neutrons and charged particles with matter;
radioactive decay processes, ion chamber measurements, scintillation detectors, and dosimetry techniques.
Applicationsofcavitytheoryanddosimetrymeasurementinmedicalphysics.
CoursePrerequisites: Upperlevelcollegephysics.
CourseObjectives: Develop an in‐depth understanding of the physics of ionizing radiations and their interactions with matter.
Studentswillexploremethodsofthegenerationanddetectionofphotons,chargedparticles,electrons,positrons,
andneutrons.Studentswillbecomeproficientinmeasurementapplicationsforavarietyofradiationsourcesand
thesubsequentevaluationofradiationdose.
Instructor:
Dr.WesleyE.Bolch,109AMedicalPhysicsBuilding,(352)273‐0303,wbolch@ufl.edu
OfficeHours:WMF,9:00‐11:00am
TeachingAssistants:
DannyLong,MS(PhDstudentinmedicalphysics),dlong19@ufl.edu
JustinCantley,MS(PhDstudentinmedicalphysics),jcantley@ufl.edu
MeetingTimes:
MWF,9thPeriod,4:05to4:55pm
MeetingLocation: E107ComputerScience&Engineering(CSE)Building
Textbook:
IntroductiontoRadiologicalPhysicsandRadiationDosimetry
FrankH.Attix
Wiley‐VCHVerlagGmbH&Company(2004)
ISBN‐13:978‐0‐471‐01146‐0
RadiationDetection&Measurement
GlennF.Knoll
JohnWiley&Sons,Inc.(2010)–4thEdition
ISBN:978‐0‐470‐13148‐0(Hardback)
AttendanceandExpectations:
Students are expected to attend all lectures, notify instructor of expected absence in advance, and make
arrangements to make up missed material. Attendance will be monitored through periodic and unannounced
verification in class. All laptops and cell phones shall be turned off at the start of all in‐class lectures. Late
homework is subject to a 20% per day penalty deduction. Professionalism standards will be enforced on the
designprojectandhomesets.
GradingPolicy:
ClassAttendance
5%
HomeworkSets
15%
Exam1
20% October3
7to10pm
Exam2
20% November7 7to10pm
Exam3
20% December5 7to10pm
DesignProjectFinalReport 15% December1 EmailbyMidnight
DesignProjectOralPresentations
5% December8 SaturdayAfternoon–2to4:30pm
BME 6938 – Radiation Detection, Measurement, and Dosimetry WE Bolch Page 1 GradingScale:
93‐100 A
90‐92
A‐
87‐89
B+
83‐86
B
80‐82
B‐
77‐79
73‐76
70‐72
67‐69
63‐66
60‐62
<60
C+
C
C‐
D+
D
D‐
E
“Inordertograduate,graduatestudentsmusthaveanoverallGPAand
anupper‐divisionGPAof3.0orbetter(Borbetter).Note:aB‐average
isequivalenttoaGPAof2.67,andtherefore,itdoesnotsatisfythis
graduationrequirement.Formoreinformationongradesandgrading
policies,pleasevisit:http://gradschool.ufl.edu/catalog/current‐
catalog/catalog‐general‐regulations.html#grades
Make‐UpExamPolicy:
Nomake‐upexamsorprojectpresentationswillbepermitted.Ifanexamorprojectpresentationismisseddueto
illness,andtheinstructorisnotifiedpriortothestartoftheexamorpresentation,are‐weightingofthoseportions
ofthefinalgradewillbemadeonacase‐by‐casebasis.
CoursePolicies
HonestyPolicy:
AllstudentsadmittedtotheUniversityofFloridahavesignedastatementofacademichonestycommitting
themselvestobehonestinallacademicworkandunderstandingthatfailuretocomplywiththiscommitmentwill
resultindisciplinaryaction.ThisstatementisaremindertoupholdyourobligationasaUFstudentandtobe
honestinallworksubmittedandexamstakeninthiscourseandallothers.
AccommodationforStudentswithDisabilities:
StudentsRequestingclassroomaccommodationmustfirstregisterwiththeDeanofStudentsOffice.Thatoffice
willprovidethestudentwithdocumentationthathe/shemustprovidetothecourseinstructorwhenrequesting
accommodation.
UFCounselingServices:
Resources are available on‐campus for students having personal problems or lacking clear career and academic
goals.Theresourcesinclude:
UFCounseling&WellnessCenter,3190RadioRd,392‐1575,psychologicalandpsychiatricservices.
CareerResourceCenter,ReitzUnion,392‐1601,careerandjobsearchservices.
SoftwareUse:
All faculty, staff and student of the University are required and expected to obey the laws and legal agreements
governing software use. Failure to do so can lead to monetary damages and/or criminal penalties for the
individualviolator.BecausesuchviolationsarealsoagainstUniversitypoliciesandrules,disciplinaryactionwill
betakenasappropriate.We,themembersoftheUniversityofFloridacommunity,pledgetoupholdourselvesand
ourpeerstothehigheststandardsofhonestyandintegrity.
BME 6938 – Radiation Detection, Measurement, and Dosimetry WE Bolch Page 2 CourseOutline:
1.IntroductionandReviewofRadiationInteractions
Ionizingandnon‐ionizingradiationsdefined
Overviewofradiationinteractions
Non‐ionizingandIonizing
Photoninteractionsoverview
Chargedparticleinteractionsoverview
Neutroninteractionsoverview
2.RadiationFields,QuantitiesandUnits
FluenceandFluxunits
Angularandenergydistributions
Sourcecharacteristicsandexamples
Relationshipstoenergydeposition
3.EnergyTransferandDose,QuantitiesandUnits
Kerma
AbsorbedDose
Exposure
Chargedparticleequilibrium
4.FundamentalsofIonChambers
Energydeposition&chargecollection
Laboratoryexercises‐ Exposuremeasurementinx‐raybeams
5.Attenuation&InteractionRates
ExponentialAttenuation
Multipleabsorptionmediaandprocesses
NarrowversusBroadbeamattenuation
Laboratoryexercises‐
Measurementofattenuation
Measurementofscatter/primaryratio
6.RadioactiveDecay
Nucleartransitions
Modesofdecay
Energyspectra
Radioactiveseriesdecay
Applications
Sourcedetection&analysis
Medicalapplications
Radioisotopegeneration
7.PhotonInteractions
CoherentScattering
Incoherentscattering
PhotoelectricEffect
PairProduction
InversePairProduction
PhotonCrossSections
ExponentialAttenuation
BME 6938 – Radiation Detection, Measurement, and Dosimetry WE Bolch ClassNotes
Attix–Chapter1
Attix–Chapters2&4
Knoll–Chapter5
Attix–Chapter12
Attix–Chapter3
Attix–Chapter6
Attix–Chapter7
Page 3 SingleCollisionVolumetricPhotonTracing
PhotonuclearInteractions
Applications
Primaryandscattermeasurements
CTDIandDLP
8.ChargedParticlesInteractions
IonizingInteractions
StoppingPower
QuantumMechanicalandRelativisticCorrections
Range
Applications
Alphaparticles
Fissionfragments
Protontherapy
9.X‐RayProduction
X‐rayFluorescence
Radiativestoppingpower
Thinandthicktargetbremsstrahlung
Applications
Generators
Linacs
Beamqualityandfiltering
10.ScintillationDetectors
Physicsofscintillation
Pulseheightanalysisandprocessing
11.LuminescentDosimetry
ThermoluminescentDosimetry
OpticallyStimulatedLuminescence
12.ElectronicDosimeters
MOSFETs
Diodesandsemiconductordevices
13.CavityTheory
Bragg‐GrayCavityTheory
Spencer‐GrayCavityTheory
Applications
TLDandOSLDosimetry
Linacbeamcalibration
14.NeutronInteractions
NeutronGeneration
CoherentScatteringofNeutrons
IncoherentScatteringofNeutrons
NeutronThermalization
NeutronAbsorptions
FissionandFissionCross‐Sections
Applications‐ActivationandshieldingandNeutrondetectionschemes
BME 6938 – Radiation Detection, Measurement, and Dosimetry WE Bolch Attix–Chapter8
Attix–Chapter9
Knoll–Chapter8
Knoll–Chapter19
Knoll–Chapter19
Attix–Chapter10
Attix–Chapter16
Page 4 Homework: Fivetosixproblemswillbeassignedforeachchaptercoveredinthecoursetext.Problemsetswill
beduewithinoneweek.Gradeswillbereduced20%perdaylate.
Exams:Threenon‐cumulativeexamswillbegivenduringthesemesteronthefollowingdates:October3(7to10
pm), November 7 (7 to 10 pm), and December 5 (7 to 10 pm). Make‐up exams will only be considered for
exceptional circumstances and will be implemented by the instructor on a case‐by‐case basis. Notice of the
absencemustbegiventotheinstructorpriortothestartofeachexam.
ReviewPapers:Studentsareaskedselectatopicrelatedtoradiationdetectionandmeasurement,andperforma
detailedliteraturereviewofthatdetectionmethodanditsapplicationstomedicaldosimetry,diagnosticimaging,
and/or treatment planning. The review article will following the Instructions to Contributors for the journal
MedicalPhysics.Gradesforthefinalmanuscriptswillbebasedupon(1)technicalcontent,(2)writingstyle,and(3)
adherencetojournalarticlesubmissionguidelines.
Studentsareaskedtofollowtheauthorinstructionstotheletter,exceptforthefollowing:
 Limityourtotalnumberofpagesoftext(AbstracttoConclusions)tonomorethan15pagesandnofewer
than10pages.
 SubmitonlyonecopyoftheCoverLetter,onecopyoftheCopyrightTransferAgreement,andonecopyof
theManuscript(includingalltablesandfigures)allinMSWordformat
 Usethefollowingfilenames:CoverLetter–LastName.docx,CopyrightAgreement–LastName.docx,and
Paper–LastName.docx.
 Eachpapermusthaveatleasttwotablesandtwofigures.
 Each paper must have at least 5 peer‐reviewed journal article citations (beyond textbooks or conference
proceedings).
EachmanuscriptwillbesubmittedwithacoverlettertotheappropriateEditor‐in‐Chiefnotingwhyyouthinkyour
work is worthy of publication. Final manuscripts are due by email on Saturday, December 1. Reviewed
manuscriptswillbereturnedandreviewedinclassonWednesday,December5.
Review Paper Presentations: On Saturday Afternoon, December 8 from 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm, we will meet to
holdoralpresentationsonyourshieldingdesignprojects.Eachpresentationwillbelimitedto12minuteswith3
minutes for questions. I will be available prior to your presentation date (schedule to be announced) to review
yourpresentationsandloadthemonmylaptop.
BME 6938 – Radiation Detection, Measurement, and Dosimetry WE Bolch Page 5 HomeworkPolicyforENU4630
WesleyE.Bolch
1. Homework sets will be assigned on Friday in class. They will be due by 4:30 pm on the following Friday
afternoonoutsidemyoffice(109AMedicalPhysicsBuilding)intheholderlabeledforthiscourse.Gradeswill
bedecreased20%foreachdaylate(20%thefollowingMonday,40%thefollowingTuesday,etc.).
2. Homework to be turned in must be neat, legible, stabled, and on one side of the paper only. As a general
practice, work each homework problem on a scratch paper and recopy when thought to be correct and
complete.Allhomeworkproblemswillbegraded;however,theinstructorreservestherighttogivezero
creditforanyproblemthatdoesnotappearneat,legible,andeasytofollow.
3. Foreachproblem...
a) Starteachproblemonaseparatepage.
b) Paraphrasetheproblemtobesolved.
c) Stateallgivenandpertinentdata,andspecifythesourcesforeach.
d) Listallpertinentformulasorlawsneededtosolvetheproblem.
e) Stateclearlyallassumptionsmade.
f) Solve the equations specified above with minimal calculation of intermediate values. When reporting
intermediatevalues,carry2‐3extrasignificantdigitsuntilthefinalanswerisgiven.
g) Within each equation to be solved, show units for every numerical value substituted. Perform a unit
analysisforbothintermediateandfinalanswers.
h) Labelandboxyourfinalanswer.Givenomorethanonesignificantdigitbeyondthoseofyourinputdata.
i) Theinstructorreservestherighttogivezerocredittoaproblemifanyoneofthesestepsarenot
followed.
4. Partialcreditwillbegivenforeachworkedproblem.
5. Turnineachhomeworkwiththehomeworkassignmentasthefirstpage.
BME 6938 – Radiation Detection, Measurement, and Dosimetry WE Bolch Page 6