Photon interaction performance of various contrast agents: Theoretical and simulation results

In this study, total mass attenuation coefficient (μ/ρ) values in the energy range from 60 keV to 15 MeV for some contrast agents (Iopamidol, Metrizamide, Iohexol, Ioxaglic acid, Iopromide, Ioversol and Iopentol) were determined with the WinXCOM computer program and GEANT4 computer simulation code. Linear attenuation coefficients (μ), half value layers (HVL), tenth value layers (TVL), mean free paths (mfp), effective atomic numbers (ZEff) and effective electron densities (NEff) in the aforementioned energy range were obtained with the help of the calculated total mass attenuation coefficients. Energy absorption build-up factors (EABF) and exposure build-up factors (EBF) for contrast agents were calculated using the five-parameter geometric progression (G-P) fitting method in the energy region of 0.015 MeV ≤ E ≤ 15 MeV for different penetration depths up to 40 mfp with the help of the equivalent atomic numbers (Zeqv). Kerma relative to air values were investigated in the energy region 0.001 MeV ≤ E ≤ 20 MeV. It has been observed that Ioxaglic acid is a good radiation absorber according to the other studied contrast agents. The present results may contribute to various application areas of radiation research.