TY - JOUR
T1 - A neutron activation analysis facility for in vivo measurement of nitrogen and chlorine in children
AU - Borovnicar, Daniel J.
AU - Stroud, Daniel B.
AU - Wahlqvist, Mark L.
AU - Strauss, Boyd J G
PY - 1996/12/1
Y1 - 1996/12/1
N2 - The construction, calibration and evaluation of a prompt-γ in vivo neutron activation analysis (IVNAA) facility for the simultaneous measurement of total body nitrogen (TBN) and chlorine (TBCl) in children is described. Subjects are irradiated unilaterally by a 0.2 GBq 252Cf neutron source from shoulder to mid thigh in both supine and prone positions. Prompt γ-ray spectra are measured with two pairs of NaI(Tl) crystals (each crystal: 10 cm × 10 cm × 15 cm) positioned on both sides of the subject. TBN and TBCl are estimated from the ratios of nitrogen-to-hydrogen (Nc/Hc) and chlorine-to-hydrogen (Clc/Hc) counts as determined from the measurement of 10.83 MeV, 8.57 MeV and 2.22 MeV prompt γ-rays from the respective reactions 14N(n, γ)15N, 35Cl(n,γ)3Cl, and 1H(n, γ)D. Nc/Hc and Clc/Hc are corrected for the effect of body width and thickness on background and γ-ray attenuation. Total body hydrogen (TBH) is used as an internal standard which is independently determined using a four compartment model of body weight defined as the sum of total body water (TBW) measured by the D2O dilution technique, total body protein (TBPr) (i.e. 6.25 × TBN) measured by IVNAA, total body bone mineral (TBBM) measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry and total body fat (TBF) estimated as body weight less the sum of TBW, TBPr and TBBM. The effective dose equivalent to a small child is 0.25 mSv (Q=20) per measurement scan. Repeated measurements of a child-size bottle phantom containing tissue-equivalent concentrations of nitrogen and chlorine yield respective intra- and inter-assay precision values of 2.8% (CV) and 2.3% for TBN measurements, and 7.9% and 10.0% for TBCl measurements. Similarly, intra- and inter-assay accuracy is determined to be respectively +0.1% ±1.0% (mean, 95% confidence interval) and +1.4% ±1.4% for TBN measurements, and +2.3% ± 4.3% and +3.9% ±6.0% for TBCl measurements.
AB - The construction, calibration and evaluation of a prompt-γ in vivo neutron activation analysis (IVNAA) facility for the simultaneous measurement of total body nitrogen (TBN) and chlorine (TBCl) in children is described. Subjects are irradiated unilaterally by a 0.2 GBq 252Cf neutron source from shoulder to mid thigh in both supine and prone positions. Prompt γ-ray spectra are measured with two pairs of NaI(Tl) crystals (each crystal: 10 cm × 10 cm × 15 cm) positioned on both sides of the subject. TBN and TBCl are estimated from the ratios of nitrogen-to-hydrogen (Nc/Hc) and chlorine-to-hydrogen (Clc/Hc) counts as determined from the measurement of 10.83 MeV, 8.57 MeV and 2.22 MeV prompt γ-rays from the respective reactions 14N(n, γ)15N, 35Cl(n,γ)3Cl, and 1H(n, γ)D. Nc/Hc and Clc/Hc are corrected for the effect of body width and thickness on background and γ-ray attenuation. Total body hydrogen (TBH) is used as an internal standard which is independently determined using a four compartment model of body weight defined as the sum of total body water (TBW) measured by the D2O dilution technique, total body protein (TBPr) (i.e. 6.25 × TBN) measured by IVNAA, total body bone mineral (TBBM) measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry and total body fat (TBF) estimated as body weight less the sum of TBW, TBPr and TBBM. The effective dose equivalent to a small child is 0.25 mSv (Q=20) per measurement scan. Repeated measurements of a child-size bottle phantom containing tissue-equivalent concentrations of nitrogen and chlorine yield respective intra- and inter-assay precision values of 2.8% (CV) and 2.3% for TBN measurements, and 7.9% and 10.0% for TBCl measurements. Similarly, intra- and inter-assay accuracy is determined to be respectively +0.1% ±1.0% (mean, 95% confidence interval) and +1.4% ±1.4% for TBN measurements, and +2.3% ± 4.3% and +3.9% ±6.0% for TBCl measurements.
KW - Children
KW - Chlorine
KW - In vivo neutron activation analysis
KW - IVNAA
KW - Nitrogen
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0030300202&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
C2 - 9060212
AN - SCOPUS:0030300202
SN - 0158-9938
VL - 19
SP - 252
EP - 263
JO - Australasian Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine
JF - Australasian Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine
IS - 4
ER -