Radiological properties of healthy, carcinoma and equivalent breast tissues for photon and charged particle interactions

AbstractPurpose: In this paper, the effective atomic numbers (Zeff), electron densities (Neff), exposure buildup factor (EBF) and energy absorption buildup factor (EABF) of healthy (H), carcinoma (C) and equivalent (E) breast tissues were investigated to quantify differences in radiological parameters between the tissues in the continuous energy region. For these purposes, Zeffs and Neffs, of healthy, carcinoma and equivalent (H-C-E) breast tissues were calculated for interaction of gamma rays and charged particles with selected tissues. EBFs and EABFs of the tissues were also calculated for gamma rays as well and were compared to each other for different photon energies (0.015–15 MeV) up to 40 mfp.Method: A well-known interpolation procedure has been used for the calculation of Zeff using the mass stopping powers and mass attenuation coefficients for charged and uncharged radiations in the continuous energy region. And the buildup factors of the tissues were calculated by the well-known G–P fitting metho...