Theoretical studies on a proposed operational quantity for individual photon dosimetry

The system of dose limitation for the irradiation of the human body from external sources, as recommended by the ICRP, makes environmental as well as individual monitoring necessary. The two concepts introduced by the ICRU for purposes of individual monitoring, namely the concept of the individual dose equivalent, penetrating, and that of the individual dose equivalent, superficial, are studied for external photon irradiation in the energy range between 10 keV and 10 MeV. Due to the fact that the ICRU sphere can be considered as a suitable phantom for radiation protection purposes, particularly considering the whole body irradiation of an individual, numerical results are presented derived from Monte Carlo transport calculations of photons within the ICRU sphere and dose equivalents calculated for the MIRD phantom. (author)