A study on quality control check of dose distribution in blood bags irradiated by 137Cs source blood irradiator by using EBT3 radiochromic film dosimetry

In this study, the dose homogeneity in the blood bags delivered by a137Cs blood irradiator is investigated by using EBT3 radiochromic film dosimetry. The dose delivered to blood bags is an important factor for protection to TA-GVHD patients during transfusion in medicine. To do this, the dose results experimentally determined by EBT3 films were then compared with those of a MCNPX simulation in which the irradiation canister containing the blood bags was irradiated with a MSD Gammacell 3000 Elan. In the simulation, two different irradiation situations were modeled; one is the canister full with blood bags and the other is half-full of blood bags. The simulation dose results showed that when the canister was filled fully with blood bags, a dose of 24.4 +/- 0.1 Gy was estimated in the canister center line. When the canister was half-full with the bags, a 28.8 +/- 0.1 Gy dose was estimated in the canister center line. Whereas the dose of 31.3 +/- 0.6 Gy dose was experimentally determined in the canister center line when the canister was filled (3 blood bags) half full. As a result, the dose homogeneity in the irradiated blood bags can easily checked by means of a two-dimensional EBT3 film dosimetry technique. Hence, this study showed that EBT3 film dosimetry is still powerful method for quality control check of dose homogeneity of any blood bags before it was used in patient.