Suitability of Different Materials as Human Tissue Simulating Materials in Co-60 Radiation Energy Beam

Abstract

Radiotherapy calibration for precise dose delivery traditionally relies on water phantom systems, but this approach poses challenges of heterogeneous corrections or the use of anthropomorphic phantoms which most underdeveloped nations find expensive. In this study, the suitability of some tissue simulating materials were investigated within the Co-60 photons energy range. This study explores the identification of locally sourced materials to simulate human tissue behavior in Co-60 energy beams. By considering effective atomic numbers and physical densities, we evaluate materials for simulating soft tissue, lung, and bone. Water, aluminum metal, and polystyrene (Styrofoam) were selected for simulating soft tissue, bone, and lung, respectively, as they have values 7.96 and 1.00 g/cm3; 13.00 and 2.6989 g/cm3 ; and 6.01 and 0.016 g/cm3 respectively for their effective atomic numbers and densites. This research provides valuable insights for resource-constrained regions aiming to improve radiotherapy calibration methods.