Monte Carlo calculated photon interaction coefficients for several body tissues

Absorption of energy in body tissues because of radiation interactions may induce harmful outcomes such as cancer and hereditary effects due to a variety of damages in the integrity and activity of the cells. This study presents Monte Carlo calculated μ/ρ, μ_en/ρ and μ_tr/ρ values of some common tissues and organs found in the human body (namely, adipose tissue, blood, bone-cortical, brain-grey/white matter, breast tissue, eye lens, lung tissue, muscle-skeletal, ovary, soft tissue and testes) as well as water for comparison purposes. The simulation model involves a monoenergetic point source producing a pencil beam where, depending on the parameter under study, particle flux, energy flux or absorbed dose from photon interactions are scored in the range of 10 keV to 20 MeV energy. The simulations were performed using the Monte Carlo package MCNP6.1 and provided μ/ρ, μ_en/ρ and μ_tr/ρ values. The data produced in this study were compared with theoretical photon attenuation data from the XMUDAT database and demonstrated good agreement. The results, which are based on a simple model geometry and pure elemental compositions, indicate that this approach can be applied to evaluate μ/ρ, μ_en/ρ and μ_tr/ρ in a broad energy range for any element, compound or mixture.