Absorbed fractions for alpha particles in ellipsoidal volumes

Internal dosimetry of alpha particles is gaining attention due to the increasing applications in cancer treatment and also for the assessment of environmental contamination from radionuclides. We developed a Monte Carlo simulation in GEANT4 in order to calculate the absorbed fractions for monoenergetic alpha particles in the energy interval between 0.1 and 10 MeV, uniformly distributed in ellipsoids made of soft tissue. For each volume, we simulated a spherical shape, three oblate and three prolate ellipsoids, and one scalene shape. For each energy and for every geometrical configuration, an analytical relationship between the absorbed fraction and a 'generalized radius' was found; and the dependence of the fit parameters on the alpha energy is discussed and fitted by parametric functions. With the proposed formulation, the absorbed fraction for alpha particles in the energy range explored can be calculated for volumes and for ellipsoidal shapes of practical interest. This method can be applied to the evaluation of absorbed fraction from alpha-emitting radionuclides. The contribution to the deposited energy coming from electron and photon emissions can be accounted for exploiting the specific formulations previously introduced. As an example of application, the dosimetry of 213Bi and its decay chain in ellipsoids is reported. (paper)