Repository of DUTH

Study of the effect of radiation on the thyroid gland (Bachelor thesis)

Τζογάνη, Σοφία/ Tzogani, Sofia

This thesis is a study which consists of 5 chapters and an appendix. The first 2 chapters are bibliographical and provide an introductory theoretical background in order to make the subject of the study and the experiment that follows easier to understand. They are intended to provide basic information about the types of radiation, the concept of radioactivity, the biological impact on the human body when in contact with it, and its health benefits when used properly by the science of medicine. They also aim to inform about the function and necessity of the presence of the thyroid gland in the body, as well as to make known its various diseases, whether or not they are caused by exposure to radiation, and whether the use of radiation can contribute to their diagnosis and treatment. In the next 2 chapters, the use of the MCNPX code with the Monte Carlo method creates an input file with information about the thyroid gland, which results in a 2D visual representation of the gland, the selection of points on its surface and its interior, and the definition of an emission source of three different radioisotopes to irradiate it. The purpose of this experimental procedure is to observe and record the absorbed radiation dose rates received by each point on the thyroid from each source separately. The last chapter presents some main conclusions drawn, concerning the different effects of each source, both on the selected points and on the thyroid as a whole, and a comparison between them. Finally, the main question of this thesis is established and answered, that is, if the literature research on thyroid radiosensitivity is identical with 11 the results of the experimental study, which means whether the thyroid is indeed affected by radiation exposure, in which specific sources and to what extent. At the end of the paper there is an appendix as an example, which shows the results of an output file, for a random selected point on the thyroid