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Biomedical subjects

F W Spiers

Publications and source records attributed to F W Spiers.

35 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Hazards of plutonium with special reference to the skeleton.

In the past attempts have been made to deduce plutonium toxicity in man from studies based on animal experimentation. An alternative method is to use the comparative dosimetry of plutonium and radium in man, with results broadly in agreement with maximum permissible levels set by the International Commission of Radiological Protection.

Animals↗

Calculated beta-ray dose factors for trabecular bone.

Mean dose factors have been calculated for those tissues in bone that are relevant to the induction of late irradiation effects; namely, red bone marrow and endosteal tissues lining trabecular bone surfaces. The calculations are based on a Monte Carlo computer method for beta-emitting radionuclides which are distributed uniformly throughout the volume of mineralized bone. Results are given for the radionuclides 14C, 45Ca, 22Na, 18F, 32P, 90Y and 90Sr+90Y (all considered for this purpose as volume-seekers) for seven bones from the adult human skeleton and calculations are also presented of average skeletal dose factors. Where possible, results are compared with those derived from other methods based on simple geometrical models.

Adult↗

Measurements of trabecular bone structure in man.

A quantitative analysis of trabecular bone structure is presented, based on omnidirectional distributions of paths across (a) trabeculation and (b) marrow cavities. The omnidirectional distributions, which take into account structural anisotropy, are generated from measured distributions of paths. Representative examples are given, together with values of two commonly quoted structural parameters, the ratio of endosteal surface to bone volume and percentage bone volume. Data on the biological and age variations in the third lumbar vertebra are also presented and an index of trabecular anisotropy suggested. Finally, the results are compared with those of other workers and estimates of useful skeletal parameters given.

Adult↗

The absorbed dose to bone marrow in the treatment of polycythaemia by 32P.

This paper reports the determination of absorbed dose to bone marrow in the treatment of polycythaemia by 32P, based on the measurement of activities in bone and marrow biopsies taken at various times from 1 to 27 days after injection of the radionuclide. Activities were measured in the cortex, trabeculation and marrow of biopsies taken from the iliac crest, and slso in sternal marrow. The biological half-life of 32P in marrow from the iliac crest was found to be nine days; that derived for sternal marrow was lower, but the difference was not statistically significant; the value for trabecular bone was 27 days. The biological half life for 32P in the body, as measured by whole-body counting, was 39 days. Calculations of the dose-rate to trabecular marrow have been made by a method based on that of Whitwell and Spiers (1971), but modified to allow for the presence of32P in the marrow as well as in trabecular bone. The dose-rates follow a single exponetial decay with a half-life of 6.7 days. The intergrated dose including that during the first day is 24 rad per mCi injected.

Aged↗