Practice Problems Weeks 3-5

Refer to Tables 15.2, 15.3, and 15.7 in Bentel for some of these problems

1) Match the applicator to its implant type

Intracavitary Prostate
Interstitial COMS Eye Plaque
Intraluminal Coronary artery implant
Surface Tandem & Ovoids
Intravascular Cylinder
Freiberg Flap
Endobronchial
Single Plane Radium Implant

2) The initial dose rate to a point in tissue from a permanent seed implant with I-125 is
8cGy/hr. The total dose at that same point will be ________ cGy.
a. 690
b. 7,980
c. 11,400
d. 16,500
e. 18,000

3) Match the dose rate to its technique

Low Dose Rate (LDR) >20 cGy/minute

Pulsed Dose Rate (PDR) 20 cGy – 200 cGy/hr

Medium Dose Rate (MDR) 40 cGy – 200 cGy/hr

High Dose Rate (HDR) 200 cGy – 1200 cGy/hr

4) The prescribed dose for a prostate implant using Pd-103 is usually lower than for I-125 implants
because Pd-103:
a. Delivers the dose in a shorter time
b. Requires less initial activity
c. Has a lower initial dose rate in the prostate
d. Poses a greater radiation hazard to staff and family members

5) Point B generally is used to determine the maximum dose delivered to which anatomical
structure or structures?
6) Which historical interstitial implant system uses non-uniform strength sources to deliver a
uniform dose (±10%) to the implant plane or volume?

7) Calculate the dose rate at P for the following situation. The sources are 2cm long and
are filtered by 1mm Pt. Point P is 2cm from the source train.
A. 29.6 cGy/hr P
B. 24.7 cGy/hr
C. 30.7 cGy/hr
D. 34 cGy/hr

15mg 10mg 10mg

8) Calculate the number of mg Ra required to deliver 5000 cGy in 72 hours for a

Manchester implant of 9 x 6 cm2 area. Both ends of the implant are crossed. The dose is
to be calculated to 0.5cm from the plane of the implant.
A. 30 mg
B. 55 mg
C. 110 mg
D. 790 mg

9) The initial dose rate at a point in tissue for a temporary implant is 10 Gy/day with Cs-
137. What is the total dose delivered to this point by a 72 hour implant?
A. 2050 cGy
B. 3000 cGy
C. 4500 cGy
D. 6000 cGy

10) Sources presently in use for permanent implants are (circle all that apply):
a. Ir-192 Seeds
b. Cs-137 Seeds
c. I-125 Seeds
d. Pd-103 Seeds
e. Au-198 Seeds
f. Cs-131 Seeds

11) A patient had a sarcoma of the thigh removed and catheters were place in the tumor bed. Ir-192
seed ribbons were used in the catheters to give a dose of 5000 cGy. If the Ir-192 seeds ribbons
were placed into the catheters on July 23 at 4:30 pm, calculate when the ribbons should be
removed from the catheters? The initial dose rate for this implant is 53.2 cGy/hr.
a. July 27 at 4:30 pm
b. July 27 at 2:30 pm
c. July 26 at 2:30 pm
d. July 26 at 4:30 pm
12) True/False: Afterloading is only routinely done for HDR procedures.

13) True/False: Sr-90 microsphere brachytherapy is used to treat liver metastases from colorectal
cancer.

14) What is the initial dose rate from a Cs-131 prostate seed implant that delivers 115 Gy?

a. 0.34 cGy/hr
b. 34 cGy/hr
c. 0.49 cGy/hr
d. 49 cGy/hr

15) True/False: According to literature a prostate seed implant with D90 ≥ Rx dose is considered a
good implant.