Monte Carlo characterization of biocompatible beta-emitting 90Y glass seed incorporated with the radionuclide 153Sm as a SPECT marker for brachytherapy applications.

A glass seed consisting of the β--emitting radionuclide 90Y incorporated with radionuclide 153Sm as SPECT marker is proposed for potential application in brachytherapy in order to reduce the undesirable dose to healthy adjacent organs. The aim of this work is to determine the dosimetric characteristics, as suggested in the AAPM TG-60/TG-149 reports, for this seed using Monte Carlo simulation. Monte Carlo codes MCNP5, EGSnrc, and FLUKA were used to calculate the absorbed dose distribution around the seed.