Abstract
In this paper, we study a deterministic method for particle transport in biological tissues. The method is specifically developed for dose calculations in cancer therapy and for radiological imaging. Generalized Fokker–Planck (GFP) theory [Leakeas and Larsen, Nucl. Sci. Eng. 137 (2001), pp. 236–250] has been developed to improve the Fokker–Planck (FP) equation in cases where scattering is forward-peaked and where there is a sufficient amount of large-angle scattering. We compare grid-based numerical solutions to FP and GFP in realistic medical applications. First, electron dose calculations in heterogeneous parts of the human body are performed. Therefore, accurate electron scattering cross sections are included and their incorporation into our model is extensively described. Second, we solve GFP approximations of the radiative transport equation to investigate reflectance and transmittance of light in biological tissues. All results are compared with either Monte Carlo or discrete-ordinates transport solutions.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Bruno Dubroca from Université Bordeaux not only for providing his code for the DOM but also for his support and advice. We also acknowledge support from the German Research Foundation DFG under grant KL 1105/14/2 and the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD Program D/07/07534.