Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Silicon for Radiation Shielding in Mammography

Mammography is one of the most important test techniques for screening and diagnostic examinations of breast diseases. Recently, the incidence of breast cancer has increased and the demand for mammography is increasing through the cancer screening programs in each country. Therefore, research on shielding materials is actively being pursued to reduce radiation exposure during mammography. The purpose of this study is to verify and compare the GATE simulation and experiment in terms of the shielding performance under the experimental conditions of tube voltage (25, 30, 35 kVp) and silicon thickness (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 mm). Through MCNP simulation, the absorbed dose reduction rate of breast tissue according to tube voltage/silicon shielding thickness is presented. The GATE simulation and experimental results were within the error range of 0.07 to 1.42 % under all conditions. In addition, through simulations and experiments, it was confirmed that silicon can offer more than 80 % shield regardless of automatic exposure control (AEC) of mammography equipment when 5 mm of silicon is used. Therefore, the results of the study can serve as useful basic data for the development of a shielding suit or shield that can reduce the exposure of other surrounding tissues due to scattered rays during mammography.