Characterization of Low-Cost Materials as Human Tissue Equivalent Materials

Abstract

A phantom is a mass of material which is similar to human tissue. It is used to investigate the effect of radiation beams on human beings and also to simulate some form of human organs or tissues such as bone, muscles and kidney. Phantom materials can range from water to complex chemical mixtures that faithfully mimic the human body as it would interact with radiation. In this study, four tissue equivalent materials (Vaseline, cork, white cement, and paraffin wax) were characterised through their attenuation coefficients (linear and mass attenuation coefficients), and mass density. Their attenuation coefficients were analysed using Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy technique (EDS) with an Americium-241 source. The experimental results were compared with theoretical results from the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements, Report 44 (1989). This study proves that the lung-equivalent, brain matter-equivalent and bone-equivalent would be adequate to simulate lung, brain matter and bone tissue respectively.