Calculation of the effects caused by bone present in phantoms irradiated by negatively charged pions

The effects caused by bone present in phantoms irradiated by negatively charged pions on absorbed dose, cell survival, oxygen enhancement ratio, and relative biological effectiveness have been estimated using Monte Carlo methods. The influence of bone along the pion path and also the influence of a bone–tissue interface parallel to the direction of motion of the pions have been considered. Calculated results, as a function of spatial coordinates in a 30‐g/cm2‐thick tissue phantom with bone both included and excluded, are presented. All of the biological data reported here are for T‐1 human kidney cells. The extent to which the effects of bone in the path of the pion beam can be approximated by using results for tissue and measuring depth in the phantom in g/cm2 is considered and discussed.