Monte Carlo simulations for external neutron dosimetry based on the visible Chinese human phantom.

A group of Monte Carlo simulations has been performed for external neutron dosimetry calculation based on a whole-body anatomical model, the visible Chinese human (VCH) phantom, which was newly developed from high-resolution cryosectional color photographic images of a healthy Chinese adult male cadaver. Physical characteristics of the VCH computational phantom that consists of 230 x 120 x 892 voxels corresponding to an element volume of 2 x 2 x 2 mm(3) are evaluated through comparison against a variety of other anthropomorphic models. Organ-absorbed doses and the effective doses for monoenergic neutron beams ranging from 10(-9) MeV to 10 GeV under six idealized irradiation geometries (AP, PA, LLAT, RLAT, ROT and ISO) were calculated using the Monte Carlo code MCNPX2.5. Absorbed dose results for selected organs and the effective doses are presented in the form of tables. Dose results are also compared with currently available neutron data form ICRP Publication 74 and those of VIP-Man. Anatomical variations between different models, as well as their influence on dose distributions, are explored. Detailed information derived from the VCH phantom is able to lend quantitative references to the widespread application of human computational models in radiology.