Differential dose absorptions for various biological tissue equivalent materials using Gafchromic XR-QA2 film in diagnostic radiology

Phantoms are devices that simulate human tissues including soft tissues, lungs, and bones in medical and health physics. The purpose of this work was to investigate the differential dose absorption in several commercially available low-cost materials as substitutes to human tissues using Gafchromic XR-QA2 film. The measurement of absorbed dose by different materials of various densities was made using the film to establish the relationship between the absorbed dose and the material density. Materials investigated included soft board materials, Perspex, chicken bone, Jeltrate, chalk, cow bone, marble, and aluminum, which have varying densities from 0.26 to 2.67gcm−3. The absorbed dose increased as the density and atomic number of the material increased. The absorbed dose to the density can be well represented by a polynomial function for the materials used. [Display omitted] •The differential dose absorption in several materials as substitutes to human tissues was investigated using Gafchromic XR-QA2 film.•The XR-QA2 film was energy independent, reproducible, and showed the ability to be scanned after 6h of irradiation.•The absorbed dose increased as the density and atomic number of the material increased.•Using the equation obtained from the curve, the absorbed dose per unit thickness for a low-density material can be determined.•When the atomic number is low, the material is more likely to interact by Compton process than by Photoelectric absorption.