Design and Evaluation of Nanoparticle-Reinforced Glass for Radiation Shielding in Angiography: An MCNP Simulation Study

Abstract

Angiography is a widely utilized diagnostic and treatment method involving relatively high radiation doses for patients and personnel. Protecting radiation-sensitive organs, such as the eye lens, is crucial in this imaging modality. In this study, we employed the Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport (MCNP) code to design transparent shields incorporating metal nanoparticles (NPs). Two types of phosphate glass—one with lead and one with bismuth—were designed and simulated. ZnO-Bi2O3-P2O3 and ZnO-PbO-P2O3 were analyzed at six concentrations (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 wt%). We calculated the linear attenuation coefficients, mass attenuation coefficients, and half-value layer for each sample across eight photon energies (50, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140, 150, and 200 kV), which are primarily used in angiography. A good agreement was observed between the simulated results and those from the XCOM database. The maximum mass attenuation coefficients were found for the PZBi 50 glass sample. The results suggest that the MCNP code can be a reliable alternative to experimental methods for other glass materials and systems, calculated for their photon attenuation characteristics. Among the studied samples, Bi-doped glasses demonstrated slightly better attenuation properties than Pb-doped ones, especially at lower photon energies. This superiority is mainly attributed to the higher atomic number of Bi and its enhanced photoelectric interaction probability. While the consistency between MCNP and XCom results reinforces the credibility of the simulation approach.

Keywords

• Monte Carlo simulation
• angiography
• glass shields
• radiation shields
• radiation protection

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