Fetal and maternal atomic bomb survivor dosimetry using the J45 pregnant female phantom series; Considerations of the kneeling and lying posture with comparisons to the DS02 system

Domal, S. J.*; Correa-Alfonso, C. M.*; Paulbeck, C. J.*; Griffin, K. T.*; Sato, Tatsuhiko; Funamoto, Sachiyo*; Cullings, H. M.*; Egbert, S. D.*; Endo, Akira; Hertel, N. E.*; et al.

Health Physics, 125(4), p.245 - 259, 2023/10

https://doi.org/10.1097/HP.0000000000001710

The RERF Working Group on Organ Dose (WGOD) has established the J45 (Japan 1945) series of high-resolution voxel phantoms, which were derived from the UF/NCI series of hybrid phantoms and scaled to match mid-1940s Japanese body morphometries. In this present study, we present the J45 pregnant female phantoms in both a kneeling and lying posture, and assess the dosimetric impact of these more anatomically realistic survivor models in comparisons to current organ doses given by the DS02 system. For the kneeling phantoms facing the bomb hypocenter, organ doses from bomb source photon spectra were shown to be overestimated by the DS02 system by up to a factor of 1.45 for certain fetal organs and up to a factor of 1.17 for maternal organs. For lying phantoms with their feet in the direction of the hypocenter, fetal organ doses from bomb source photon spectra were underestimated by the DS02 system by factors as low as 0.77 while maternal organ doses were overestimated by up to a factor of 1.38. Results from this study highlight the degree to which the existing DS02 system can differ from organ dosimetry based upon 3D radiation transport simulations using more anatomically realistic models of those survivors exposed during pregnancy while in a kneeling or lying position.