Monte Carlo methods to model radiation interaactions and induced damage

Abstract

This review is devoted to the analysis of some Monte Carlo (MC) simulation programmes which have been developed to describe radiation interaction with biologically relevant materials. Current versions of the MC codes Geant4 (GEometry ANd Tracking 4), PENELOPE (PENetration and Energy Loss of Positrons and Electrons), EPOTRAN (Electron and POsitron TRANsport), and LEPTS (Low-Energy Particle Track Simulation) are described. Mean features of each model, as the type of radiation to consider, the energy range covered by primary and secondary particles, the type of interactions included in the simulation and the considered target geometries are discussed. Special emphasis lies on recent developments that, together with (still emerging) new databases that include adequate data for biologically relevant materials, bring us continuously closer to a realistic, physically meaningful description of radiation damage in biological tissues.