Utveckling av ett praktiskt verktyg för uppskattning av stråldossom ges vid Cone-Beam Computed Tomography Undersökningar : Skapandet av en praktisk och validerad lösning förrutinmässig uppskattning av organdoser för olika typer av system

This study presents the development and validation of a practical Monte Carlo(MC) simulation pipeline for estimating patient organ doses and effective dosesfor Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) systems. Using the MC soft-ware ImpactMC (CT Imaging, Erlangen, Germany), a workflow was created toautomate both input preparation and post-processing steps, enabling efficientcalculation of organ and effective doses. Validation was carried out by simu-lating a pediatric spinal intraoperative CBCT scan with both an ATOM Dosime-try Phantom Model 706 (Sun Nuclear, Melbourne, FL) anthropomorphic phan-tom and a computational International Commission on Radiological Protection(ICRP) phantom, comparing the resulting dose estimates to Thermolumines-cent Dosimeter (TLD) measurements. Additional simulations with ComputedTomography Dose Index (CTDI) phantoms, both computational and CT-image-based, were used to benchmark CTDI metrics against manufacturer-providedreference values. Input validation confirmed accurate modeling of key CBCTfeatures, including bowtie filters, table geometry, asymmetric collimation, andtube current modulation. Output validation showed good agreement betweensimulation results and TLD measurements ((15.47 ± 18.48)% and (25.96 ±17.01)% relative differences for the ATOM and ICRP phantoms compared tothe TLD measurements, respectively), with deviations for the ICRP phantommostly explained by anatomical differences. Effective dose estimates also alignedwell ((18.73 ± 9.89)% and (3.10 ± 8.59)% relative differences for the ATOMand ICRP phantoms compared to the TLD measurements, respectively), partic-ularly for the ICRP phantom. CTDI values were consistent with reference data(all within ± 10.0% of the reference data), aside from a single outlier linked to ta-ble geometry in the simulation model. These findings demonstrate the reliabil-ity of the simulation pipeline and its potential for use in routine CBCT dosime-try. Future improvements should focus on optimizing the current method toincrease the accuracy of the organ and effective doses. Also, this methodologycould be expanded to its implementation in other general-purpose Monte Carloprograms, which can increase its accessibility. This work contributes to improv-ing individualized patient dose estimation in CBCT, supporting safer and moreoptimized diagnostic and interventional imaging practices.