Monte Carlo simulations in medical imaging

Abstract

Monte Carlo techniques have become popular in different areas of medical physics over the last 50 years. Factors which have contributed to the wider use include the improved description of radiation transport as well as the optimization of the computing systems. The main advantage of Monte Carlo methodology deals with the simulation of stochastic processes involving random behavior and the quantification of physical parameters that are difficult or even impossible to calculate by experimental measurements. Due to the above characteristics, many papers have been published based on Monte Carlo methods, most of them emphasizing the electron–photon interactions with matter. Monte Carlo modeling has been carried out by various simulation programs (e.g. EGS, PENELOPE, GEANT4 etc) which in turn have been successfully applied in a variety of medical areas (e.g. mammography, nuclear medicine, radiotherapy etc)