In plain language
In International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) pregnant-female computer phantoms, fetal dose per unit exposure varied up to 15-fold with fetal age, and maternal uterine dose was a poor stand-in for fetal dose at low photon energies. These are simulated reference values, not measured doses in pregnant staff.
At a glance
- Type of study
- Original research, Phantom or simulation study
- Who was studied
- Phantom or simulation (no people)
- Summary based on
- the abstract
What it found
Fetal whole-body dose coefficients varied markedly with fetal age between 8 and 38 weeks under AP irradiation; maternal detriment-weighted coefficients varied less.
Key figures: 1.7-fold (maternal, 0.015 MeV); 15.4-fold (fetal, 0.02 MeV)
Maternal uterine dose differed substantially from fetal whole-body dose in the first trimester, so fetal dose coefficients should be preferred, especially for low-energy photons.
Key figures: up to 1.8-fold (8 week) and 7.7-fold (10 week); <0.05 MeV
Age dependency reflects anatomical changes such as increased maternal body size and fetal growth, which increase internal organ shielding in older fetuses.
The dataset covers 27 maternal organs and 30 fetal organs across six idealized irradiation geometries.
Key figures: 27 organs; 30 organs; six geometries
Limits to keep in mind
Monte Carlo simulation in reference computational phantoms under idealized photon geometries, not measured doses in real workers or fluoroscopy scatter fields. Only the abstract was available.
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How this summary was made
ORSIF prepared this summary with AI assistance from the abstract of the paper. A program then checked that the passage supporting each finding appears word for word in that source. A person has not yet reviewed each summary, so read the original before relying on a number. ORSIF summarizes research and does not endorse any product or company. Report a problem with this summary.
Prepared November 3, 2026.