THE IMPACT OF NEW ICRU95 QUANTITIES AND SPECTRUM DATA ON THE DOSIMETRIC QUANTITIES OF THE NEUTRON REFERENCE FIELDS AT PTB.

In 2020, the ICRU released a new report which includes the re-definition of the operational quantities used in radiation protection and new conversion coefficients from physical quantities to operational radiation protection quantities. An assessment of the ambient and personal dose conversion coefficients for the reference neutron fields of radionuclide sources at PTB is necessary based on these new definitions. In this work, a numerical estimation of the conversion coefficients of moderated and unmoderated 252Cf and 241Am-Be neutron sources based on ICRU57 and ICRU95 reports and using spectrum data available in the ISO 8529-1 standard and at PTB are discussed. Two numerical approaches are used for this estimation to ensure the reliability of the calculated values: a direct calculation using MCNP6, and cubic interpolation of conversion coefficients datasets written in Python. The results show large differences between the spectrum-averaged operational quantities for the current and new conversion coefficients of up to 23%. The choice of spectrum data affects conversion coefficient values by 6-8%.

CALCULATIONS FOR THE HEAVY WATER MODERATED 252CF REFERENCE FIELDS AT PTB.

Knowledge of the neutron spectra of reference fields is very important for calibration purposes. This paper presents new calculations of the neutron spectra and dosimetric parameters of a D2O moderated 252Cf source assembly used to produce a neutron reference field at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundeanstalt (PTB), based on recent 252Cf fission neutron spectrum data and conversion coefficients for operational radiation protection units recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) report 57. Neutron fluence and dose calculations were carried out using a detailed simulation model of the source assembly implemented using MCNP6 and the cross-section data library ENDF/B-VIII.0. The PTB moderator was compared with the International Organization for Standardization, ISO 8529 model and to previous calculations done at PTB. The results show differences to the previous calculations performed at PTB of the order of 5% and a slight discrepancy with the ISO 8529 moderator model regarding the values of the operational quantities.

Assessment of CT Image Quality Using a Bayesian Framework.

In computed tomography, there is a tradeoff between the quality of the reconstructed image and the radiation dose received by the patient. In order to find an appropriate compromise between the image quality of the reconstructed images and the radiation dose, it is important to have reliable methods for evaluating the quality of the reconstructed images. A successful family of methods for the assessment of image quality is task-based image quality assessment, which often involves the use of model observers, and which assesses the quality of the image reconstruction by deriving a figure of merit. Here, we present a Bayesian framework that can be used in task-based image quality assessment. Our framework is applicable to binary classification problems with normally distributed observations, and we make the additional assumption that the covariance matrix is the same in both image classes. We choose a particular non-informative prior for the parameters of our model, which allows us to derive an expression for the Bayes factor for the binary classification problem which to the best of our knowledge is novel. We introduce a novel model observer based on this Bayes factor. Further, we have developed a methodology for estimating the posterior distribution of the figure of merit for this type of classification problem. Compared with classical statistical approaches, our Bayesian approach has the advantage that it provides a full characterization of the uncertainty of the figure of merit. Our choice of prior allows us to design a simple Monte Carlo algorithm to efficiently sample the posterior of the figure of merit of the ideal observer, in contrast to common Bayesian procedures which rely on computationally expensive Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling. We have shown that for training samples of sufficient size, our estimated credible intervals for the figure of merit have coverage probabilities close to their credibility, so that our approach can reasonably be used within a classical statistical framework as well.

DETERMINATION OF THE BACKGROUND OF 3He-FILLED PROPORTIONAL COUNTERS USED FOR LOW-LEVEL NEUTRON MEASUREMENTS.

Low-level neutron measurements are required for applications such as environmental monitoring, measurements of weak sources and the determination of neutron fluxes at underground laboratories. When analyzing low-level neutron measurements, it is important to be able to distinguish the signal due to neutrons from any background term that may originate within the detector. A solution to this problem has been developed for the case of measurements carried out with 3He spherical proportional counters of the type which are often used in Bonner sphere spectrometers. To determine this background, measurements were carried out in the former UDO underground laboratory of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt located in the Asse salt mine. The analysis of the data was carried out using Bayesian parameter estimation. The result of the analysis is a very general parameterised function that can be used to describe the pulse height spectrum due to the background of the proportional counters.

Characterisation of neutron fields: challenges in assessing the directional distribution.

The SCK·CEN has carried out neutron field characterisation campaigns at several nuclear reactors. The main goal of these measurement campaigns was to evaluate the performance of different neutron personal dosemeters. To be able to evaluate the performance of neutron personal dosemeters in terms of Hp(10), knowledge of the directional distribution is indispensable. This distribution was estimated by placing several personal dosemeters on all six sides of a slab phantom. The interpretation and conversion of this information into a reliable value for Hp(10) requires great care. The data were analysed using three methods. In the first approach, a linear interpolation was performed on three perpendicular axes. In the other two approaches, an icosahedron was used to model the angle of incidence of the neutrons and a linear interpolation or a Bayesian analysis was performed. This study describes the limitations and advantages of each of these methods and provides recommendations for their use to estimate the personal dose equivalent Hp(10) for neutron dosimetry.

Bayesian and maximum entropy methods for fusion diagnostic measurements with compact neutron spectrometers.

In applications of neutron spectrometry to fusion diagnostics, it is advantageous to use methods of data analysis which can extract information from the spectrum that is directly related to the parameters of interest that describe the plasma. We present here methods of data analysis which were developed with this goal in mind, and which were applied to spectrometric measurements made with an organic liquid scintillation detector (type NE213). In our approach, we combine Bayesian parameter estimation methods and unfolding methods based on the maximum entropy principle. This two-step method allows us to optimize the analysis of the data depending on the type of information that we want to extract from the measurements. To illustrate these methods, we analyze neutron measurements made at the PTB accelerator under controlled conditions, using accelerator-produced neutron beams. Although the methods have been chosen with a specific application in mind, they are general enough to be useful for many other types of measurements.