Revisão da Literatura sobre Simuladores Antropomórficos Virtuais Utilizados em Dosimetria das Radiações Ionizantes

Abstract

This paper presents a review of the creation of virtual anthropomorphic simulators, from the first model that became known as the mathematical or stylized simulator, the voxel simulator based on tomographic images, and the MESH simulator based on NURBS surfaces. To execute these virtual anthropomorphic simulators, a computational tool that had previously been developed for nuclear weapons research began to be used to calculate doses through virtual simulators. This method became known as the Monte Carlo code. The Monte Carlo method, based on statistical simulations, has a long history, but its practical implementation for radiation loading simulations and the creation of corresponding software emerged through nuclear weapons research at the Los Alamos National Laboratory during World War II. These anthropomorphic simulators have had and continue to have several uses in Physics applied to medicine. They can be used to determine the dose of radiation absorbed by organs and tissues and to apply radiological protection standards in order to limit the possible damage caused by ionizing radiation in occupationally exposed individuals.