In radiation protection, the effective dose is a dose quantity defined as the sum of the tissue-equivalent doses weighted by the ICRP organ (tissue) weighting factors, wT, which takes into account the varying sensitivity of different organs and tissues to radiation. Effective dose is given the symbol E. The SI unit of E is the sievert (Sv) or but rem (roentgen equivalent man) is still commonly used (1 Sv = 100 rem). Unit of sievert was named after the Swedish scientist Rolf Sievert, who did a lot of the early work on dosimetry in radiation therapy.
Units of effective dose
- Sievert. The sievert is a derived unit of equivalent dose and effective dose and for represents the equivalent biological effect of the deposit of a joule of gamma rays energy in a kilogram of human tissue.
- REM. The rem (an abbreviation for Roentgen Equivalent Man) is the non-SI unit of equivalent dose and effective dose dose, which is used predominantly in the USA. It is a term for dose equivalence and equals the biological damage that would be caused by one rad of dose.
One sievert is a large amount of effective dose. A person who has absorbed a whole body dose of 1 Sv has absorbed one joule of energy in each kg of body tissue (in case of gamma rays).
Effective doses in industry and medicine often have usually lower doses than one sievert, and the following multiples are often used:
1 mSv (millisievert) = 1E-3 Sv
1 µSv (microsievert) = 1E-6 Sv
Conversions from the SI units to other units are as follows:
- 1 Sv = 100 rem
- 1 mSv = 100 mrem
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