Energy absorption and exposure buildup factors for some polymers and tissue substitute materials: photon energy, penetration depth and chemical composition dependence

The gamma ray energy absorption and exposure buildup factors have been calculated by using the five parameter geometric progression (GP) fitting formula for some polymers and tissue substitute materials in the energy region 0.015-15 MeV up to a penetration depth of 40 mean free paths. From the results, it is worth noting that significant variations occur in gamma ray buildup factors for the given polymers and tissue substitute materials depending on photon energy, penetration depth and chemical composition of the materials. Also, it was observed that there are significant variations between energy absorption (EABF) and exposure (EBF) buildup factors which may be due to the variations in chemical composition of the materials used. Finally, it is expected that the presented buildup factor data may be helpful in (a) estimating the effective dose to be given to patients in radiation therapy and diagnostics, hence allowing corrections to be made to the intensity of radiation, as it is somewhat problematic to evaluate the real absorbed dose in critical organs due to the probability of photon buildup somewhere inside the medium; (b) estimating the health hazards arising from the exposure of the human body to radiation, thus it will be helpful in controlling the exposure of the human body to radiation.