Study on Radiation Protection Educational Tool Using Real-Time Scattering Radiation Distribution Calculation Method with Ray Tracing Technology

In this study, we developed an application for radiation protection that calculates in real time the distribution of scattered radiation during fluoroscopy using ray tracing technology, assuming that most of the scattered radiation in the room originates from the patient and that the scattered radiation originating from the patient travels linearly. The directional vectors and energy information for the scattered radiation spreading from the patient’s body surface to the outside of the body were obtained via simulation in a virtual X-ray fluoroscopy room. Based on this information, the scattered dose distribution in the X-ray room was calculated. The ratio of the scattered doses calculated by the method to those obtained from the Monte Carlo simulation was mostly within the range of 0.7 to 1.8 times, except for behind the X-ray machine. The scattered radiation distribution changed smoothly as the radiation protective plates were moved. When using protection plates with a high degree of freedom in their placement, it is not practical to measure the scattered radiation distribution each time. This application cannot be used for dose estimation for medical staff in clinical settings because it does not take into account the scattered radiation of non-patients and its dose calculation accuracy is low. However, the simple confirmation of the scattered radiation distribution and changes in staff dose led to an intuitive understanding of the appropriate placement of the protection plates.