Publications by authors named "Mark A Tucker"
Characteristic X rays of energies less than approximately 20 keV are of interest in radiobiology and radiation oncology. There is evidence that these low-energy photons produce higher relative biological effectiveness (RBE) and lower oxygen enhancement ratio (OER) relative to higher energies. Lower energy X rays also offer the advantage of healthy tissue sparing beyond the target treatment depth.
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- The study investigates how bombarding high-Z materials, like gold, with x-ray radiation leads to the release of electrons, which boosts radiation dose in cells, especially useful in cancer treatments.
- By utilizing unlaminated Gafchromic EBT2 film alongside Monte Carlo modeling, researchers measured the dose enhancement factor (DEF) when a 23.1 nm gold film was exposed to x-rays, revealing significant dose contributions at very shallow depths.
- The maximum DEF of 18.31 was specifically noted at a depth of 0.25 μm in water, indicating that using gold nanofilms can enhance radiation therapy effects at the cellular level.