Photon Shielding Characterization of a Modified Titania-Bismuth-Borotellurite Glass System for Medical Applications

Shielding against ionizing radiation is considered a crucial issue for the radiation safety of patients and workers at radiology centers. For this purpose, the shielding effectiveness of a modified titania-bismuth-borotellurite (TiO2-Bi2O3-B2O3-TeO2) glass system at diagnostic energy ranges was investigated. This glass system is characterized by the high density of its components and its non-toxicity, which have given it an outstanding reputation in radiation shielding. A comparison of shielding characteristics between different compositions of the mentioned glass system and shielding materials frequently used at radiology centers, including lead glass and ordinary concrete, is implemented. The computational program WinXCom was utilized to evaluate the mass attenuation coefficients (µ/ρ)m of the glass compositions, lead glass and ordinary concrete. The incident diagnostic X-ray photon beams used in imaging tools such as computed tomography (CT), dental imaging, general radiography and mammography were employed at average energies of 60, 40, 30, and 20 keV, respectively. Additional shielding parameters, such as half-value layers (HVLs) and effective atomic numbers (Zeff), were also computed. The results revealed that among the materials tested, the glass system with high bismuth-oxide content in (i.e., the 30Te sample) is the best shielding material for different diagnostic imaging tools. Such a transparent glass system could be advantageous, as it is considered a green and environmentally friendly shielding material that can replace undesirable toxic lead glass and ordinary concrete, which occupies a large amount of space at radiology centers.