Amidst concerns of radiological terrorism, there are institutional initiatives to replace radionuclide sources with lower energy X-ray sources. As researchers transition, questions remain regarding whether the biological effects of gamma-rays may be recapitulated with orthovoltage X-rays because different energies may induce divergent biological effects. In the recent study, “Orthovoltage X-rays Exhibit Increased Efficacy Compared with Gamma-rays in Preclinical Irradiation,” researchers found that a dose reduction is necessary for X-rays to achieve comparable biological effects.
In this webcast, Dr. Chandan Guha, Ph. D., Vice Chairman and Professor of Radiation Oncology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Brett Bell review the dichotomy between the physical dose and biological effect and explains how hematopoietic and intestinal injury increases with decreasing energy.
