Geant4 implementation of inter-atomic interference effect in small-angle coherent X-ray scattering for materials of medical interest. (July 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Paternò, G.; Cardarelli, P.; Contillo, A.; Gambaccini, M.; Taibi, A.
• Is Part Of: Physica medica. Volume 51(2018)
• Page Start: 64
• Page End: 70
• Publication Date: 2018-07
• Subjects: Coherent scattering -- SAXS -- Molecular interference -- Monte Carlo simulations -- Geant4; Medical physics -- Periodicals; Biophysics -- Periodicals; Biophysics -- Periodicals; Imagerie médicale -- Périodiques; Radiothérapie -- Périodiques; Rayons X -- Sécurité -- Mesures -- Périodiques; Physique -- Périodiques; Médecine -- Périodiques; 610.153
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmp.2018.04.395
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1120-1797

Abstract

Highlights: Implementation of molecular interference in the X-ray coherent scattering. Extension to Geant4 Monte Carlo code to include updated molecular form factors. Capability to simulate SAXS experiments for medical applications. Abstract: An extension to Geant4 Monte Carlo code was developed to take into account inter-atomic (molecular) interference effects in X-ray coherent scattering. Based on our previous works, the developed code introduces a set of form factors including interference effects for a selected variety of amorphous materials useful for medical applications, namely various tissues and plastics used to build phantoms. The code is easily upgradable in order to include new materials and offers the possibility to model a generic tissue as a combination of a set of four basic components. A dedicated Geant4 application for the simulation of X-ray diffraction experiments was created to validate the proposed upgrade of Rayleigh scattering model. A preliminary validation of the code obtained through a comparison with EGS4 and an experiment is presented, showing a satisfactory agreement.