Computational Dosimetry

Abstract

%is is an informal report intended primarily for internal or limited external istribution. The opinions and conclusions stated are those of the author and may r may not be those of the Laboratory.iork performed under the auspices of the U.S. 36The paper presents a definition of the term "Computational Dosimetry" that is interpreted as the subdiscipline of computational physics which is devoted to radiation metrology. It is shown that computational dosimetry is more than a mere collection of computational methods. Computational simulations directed at basic understanding and modelling are important tools provided by computational dosimetry, while another very important application is the support that it can give to the design, optimization and analysis of experiments. However, the primary task of computational dosimetry is to reduce the variance in the determination of absorbed dose (and its related quantities), for example in the disciplines of radiological protection and radiation therapy. In this paper emphasis is given to the discussion of potential pitfalls in the applications of computational dosimetry and recommendations are given for their avoidance. The need for comparison of calculated and experimental data whenever possible is strongly stressed.