A novel breathing phantom was designed for being used in conventional and ion-beam radiotherapy as well as for medical imaging. Accurate dose delivery and patient safety are aimed to be verified for four-dimensional (4D) treatment techniques compensating for breathing-induced tumor motion. The phantom includes anthropomorphic components representing an average human thorax. It consists of real tissue equivalent materials to fulfill the requirements for dosimetric experiments and imaging purposes. The different parts of the torso (lungs, chest wall, and ribs) and the tumor can move independently. Simple regular movements, as well as more advanced patient-specific breathing cycles are feasible while a reproducible setup can be guaranteed. The phantom provides the flexibility to use different types of dosimetric devices and was designed in a way that it is robust, transportable and easy to handle. Tolerance levels and the reliability of the phantom setup were determined in combination with tests on motion accuracy and reproducibility by using infrared optical tracking technology. Different imaging was performed including positron emission tomography imaging, 4D computed tomography as well as real-time in-room imaging. The initial dosimetric benchmarking studies were performed in a photon beam where dose parameters are predictable and the dosimetric procedures well established.

The assessment of the exposure to cosmic radiation onboard aircraft is one of the preoccupations of bodies responsible for radiation protection. Cosmic particle flux is significantly higher onboard aircraft than at ground level and its intensity depends on the solar activity. The dose is usually estimated using codes validated by the experimental data. In this paper, a comparison of various codes is presented, some of them are used routinely, to assess the dose received by the aircraft crew caused by the galactic cosmic radiation. Results are provided for periods close to solar maximum and minimum and for selected flights covering major commercial routes in the world. The overall agreement between the codes, particularly for those routinely used for aircraft crew dosimetry, was better than + + + + +20 % from the median in all but two cases. The agreement within the codes is considered to be fully satisfactory for radiation protection purposes.

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AVIDOS is a computer code used for the dose assessment of aircraft crew exposed to cosmic radiation. The code employs a multiparameter model built upon simulations of cosmic radiation exposure done using the FLUKA Monte Carlo code. AVIDOS calculates both ambient dose equivalent H*(10) and effective dose E for flight routes over the whole world at typically used altitudes and for the full range of solar activity. The dose assessment procedure using AVIDOS is accredited by the Austrian office for accreditation according to European regulations and is valid in the whole Europe. AVIDOS took part in an international comparison of different codes assessing radiation exposure of aircraft crew where a fully satisfactory agreement between codes has been found. An online version of AVIDOS with user friendly interface is accessible to public under the internet address: http://avidos.healthphysics.at.