The development of VMC dose calculation began in 1999 in the Instituto de Radioproteção e Dosimetria IRD, and the software has been continuously improved since then. VMC dose calculation simulates mathematically the irradiation of the human body by various radia tion sources, including external point, ground, cloud or internal gamma sources.

Doses due to exposures to X-ray radiography equipment and scanning machines can also be calculated. The equivalent dose is calculated for each of the ICRP 103 tissues. The effective dose is also calculated. VMC dose calculation includes encrypted versions of the ICRP 110 male and female ICRP reference phantoms.

VMC dose calculation is very useful to quickly estimate local skin and organ doses from radioactive sources in the case of emergencies or accidents.

For example, when a high activity source of ¹⁹²Ir from an industrial radiography practice is accidentally placed in contact with the skin, the simple and reliable “inverse square law” dose calculation should not be used as the skin-source distance is almost zero.

VMC dose calculation or other Monte Carlo program should be used in this case. VMC DC allows the user to “zoom in” to the area nearest the source and to "map out" the iso-doses in Gy in the skin, muscle and neighbouring tissues – the tissues with the highest doses for this type of accident. The region of body tissue where the equivalent doses are so high that severe deterministic effects can be foreseen is mapped out. Figures 1, 2 and 3 show the graphics of a VMC DC calculation.

Figure 1. VMC dose calculation screen shots showing the simulation of a 65 Ci (2.4 TBq) ¹⁹²Ir source placed in the trouser back pocket for one hour.

Figure 2. VMC dose calculation top screen shot showing the simulation of a 65 Ci (2.4 TBq) ¹⁹²Ir source placed in the trouser back pocket for one hour.

Figure 3. VMC dose calculation "local dose" screen for the above exposure showing a point where the equivalent dose to the skin is around 970 Gy. Clicking at different places on the VMC DC screen moves the white circle, and the calculated "local dose" for each position is shown. Isodose curves can be established.

If there is a need to simulate unusual geometries or moving sources, please contact me at johngahunt@gmail.com

Download VMC dose calculation

The Setup program is free from viruses and it is suggested to download it using Google Chrome. If there is a problem with the download, please contact me directly. Furthermore, if you have downloaded the software and would like to receive future updates, feel free to send me an e-mail.

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VMC dose calculation intercomparisons

Testing VMC DC through international intercomparisons, added to the many years of testing the program with physical phantoms and TLDs or against other Monte Carlo programs, shows that VMC DC can be used to calculate tissue doses to within an uncertainty of less than 10%. Please use the buttons below for further information.