RSO EXAM LEVEL III – PREVIOUS YEARS VIVA QUESTION

Chapter 1, 2 & 3 ( Basic Radiation Physics, Interaction of Radiation with matter, Basic X-ray
Physics)
1. State inverse square law and why it is inversely proportional to square of the
distance?
2. Is inverse square law valid for electrons and neutrons?
3. What are the type of neutrons based on their energies?
4. what is transient and secular equilibrium?
5. Write the expression related to transient and secular equilibrium.
6. Draw beta spectrum of P-32 and explain. why it is continuous?
7. Draw Co60 and Cs137 decay scheme.
8. When is the alpha particle are more hazardous, while exposed externally or
internally?
9. Explain type of photon interaction.
10. Explain type of neutron interaction.
11. Explain photon production.
12. At what energy the neutron production starts from the medical linear accelerator?
13. What is the main source of neutron production?
14. What is the half life of free neutrons?
15. What is standard temperature and pressure?
16. What is normal temperature and pressure?
17. What is the density of air at STP?
18. What is effective half life?
19. What is apparent activity?
20. Explain transient and secular equilibrium with expression and example?
Chapter 4 Radiation Quantities and Units
1. What is fluence and flux?
2. What is apparent activity?
3. What is ALI and DAC?
4. What is relation between ALI and DAC?
 5. Explain dose equivalent and equivalent dose.
6. What is the relation between absorbed dose in air and exposure?
7. Define exposure with its unit.
8. Define absorbed dose and its unit.
9. What is the difference between exposure rate constant and gamma ray constant?
10. Define effective dose.
11. What is the unit of equivalent dose?
12. Define Roentgen.
13. What is the difference between Gy and Sv?
14. What is the composition of ICRU sphere?
15. Define KERMA
16. Relationship between absorbed dose and KERMA?
17. Explain Bragg Gray cavity theory?
18. Explain Spencer Attix theory and Burlin cavity theory?
19. Explain linear attenuation coefficient.
20. Explain CEMA.
Chapter 5 Radiation Dosimetry
1. What is the range of volume of ionization chambers used in measurement of
absorbed dose?
2. For low dose measurements, chamber volume should be increased or decreased?
3. Advantages of TPR20,10
4. What are the reference conditions for the determination of absorbed dose to water
in high energy electron beam?
5. What are the reference conditions for the determination of absorbed dose to water
in high energy photon beam?
6. What are the reference conditions for the determination of absorbed dose to water
in Co60 Gamma-rays?
7. Why our clinical dosimeters are not directly calibrated in Primary Standard Dosimetry
Laboratories?
8. Explain Bragg Gray cavity theory and Spencer Attix cavity theory, Which cavity theory
is used in TRS 398 for absorbed dose determination?
 9. Where is our SSDL located in India?
10. Which protocol do you resort for absorbed dose determination for proton beam and
heavy ion beam?
11. Whether the neutron dosimetry is addressed in TRS 398?
12. Could you tell us at least five quantities that influence the determination of electron
beam quality?
13. In which beam conditions, the factor to correct the response of an ionization
chamber for the incomplete charge collection is more pronounced?
14. Draw the dosimetry setup of Co60 -determination of absolute dose and explain the
formalism with influencing factors.
15. What is the relation between the stopping power ratio and the beam quality index
for photon beams in TRS 398 protocol?
16. What is the standard temperature and pressure?
17. What are the reference condition recommended for determining photon beam
quality?
18. How the beam quality specification is done for high-energy electron beams in TRS-
398 and TG-51 protocols?
19. What are the advantage of calibration in terms of absorbed to water?
20. Why should TRS398 deviate from the earlier air-kerma standard that was adopted in
the previous TRS 277 protocol?
21. What do you understand by the term primary standard, secondary standard and
national standard?
22. What do you understand by the terms reference instruments and field instruments?
23. Why the chamber volume is limited between 0.1cc to 1cc for dosimetry?
24. What type of chamber you are using for absolute dosimetry for high energy photon
and what is its volume?
25. If pressure increases, the dosimeter reading will increase or decrease?
26. What are the types of uncertainties classified in TRS 398?
27. Derive Kqqo from stopping power ratio.
28. Do we need two type of well type chamber to measure brachytherapy source of high
activity and low activity?
Chapter 6 Radiation Detection and Measurement
1. What chamber can be used to measure the activity of point source?
2. How often the radiation measuring instruments should be calibrated?
3. Why measuring instrument reading fluctuates widely at low count rates?
4. Draw well type chamber response cure.
5. List the type of dosimetry system used in external beam dosimetry?
6. What are the difference between gamma zone monitor and survey meter?
7. What is the difference between zone monitor used in HDR room and LDR room?
8. In which unit the contamination monitor will display?
9. At what distance from the floor contamination survey is done?
10. At what distance from the barrier, area survey is done?
11. Difference between TLD and pocket dosimeter?
12. What are the types of neutron monitoring instruments used?
13. List type of neutron detectors used for area monitoring?
14. List type of neutron detectors used for personnel monitoring?
15. Explain about TLD albedo neutron monitors?
16. Explain bubble detectors for neutron personnel monitoring?
17. What type on neutron monitor is used in India?
18. What is the principle of neutron detection in CR-39?
19. What are the different neutron monitoring instruments for thermal neutrons?
20. What type of survey meter is used to survey LINAC installation?
21. Why GM counters are not used in survey of LINAC installation?
22. Explain densitometer and draw densitometer curve?
23. What type of survey meter is used in diagnostic radiology installation?
24. What is the use if TLD?
25. What is meant by thermoluminesence?
26. What are the characteristics due to which TLD is accepted as radiation dosimeter?
27. For personnel monitoring TLD should satisfy characteristics such as?
28. Is the thermoluminescence phosphor (CaSO 4 : Dy ) is a tissue equivalent material?
29. What is the amount of Dy added to CaSO4 and on what basis that specific amount is
selected?
30. Why CaSO4 :Dy is used for dosimetry (personnel monitor) in India?
 31. List other TL phosphors that are used in dosimetry?
32. What is glow curve?
33. What is the glow peak temperature of CaSO4 : Dy?
34. When you change heating rate of TLD, will the glow peak temperature vary?
35. What is annealing process?
36. What filters are used in TLD badge used in India?
37. What is the reporting value for beta?
38. Explain the dose calculation algorithm for beta and gamma ray dose in TLD?
39. What is the use of control card?
40. If the person has received high energy alpha emitting source as internal
contamination, whether the TLD badge can measure no not?
41. Example of dose rate dependent detector?
42. What type of probe is required for detection of emission from I125 and I131
radionuclides?
43. What parameters decide the choice of radiation detectors for given type of
radiation?
44. Why scintillation probe is used for low energy photons?
Chapter 7 Radiation Biology
1. What is the doubling dose for genetic risk assessment?
2. What is oxygen enhancement ratio?
3. What are the types of biodosimetry techniques?
4. What is the gold standard in biodosimetry techniques?
5. What is the advantage of dicentric chromosome aberration analysis (DCA)?
6. What are the disadvantage of micronucleus assay?
7. What is dose range of DCA?
8. What is the dose range of premature chromosome condensation assay?
9. Why dicentric has been chosen for calculating dose? Why not other type of
abberation?
10. A person got more than 100 mSv. What test will you prefer in the absence of
personal monitoring?
 11. In case of emergencies, we mention the dose received by person in terms of gray or
in terms of sievert?
12. What is the difference between Gy and Sv?
13. What is LET and its unit?
14. Above which LET, we call it as high LET?
15. What is therapeutic ratio?
16. What is DDREF?
17. At what dose range hematopoietic syndrome occurs?
18. What dose range gastro-intestinal syndrome occurs?
19. Above what dose Neurological syndrome occurs?
20. What are the 4R’s in radiobiology?
21. Define OER.
22. At what ratio double strand break occurs with respect to single strand break?
Chapter 8 Diagnostic Radiology
1. Why QA is necessary for diagnostic equipment?
2. Explain any 2 QA related to X-ray unit?
3. What is field congruence test?
4. What is focal spot and what are its significance?
5. What are the parameters used in X-ray diagnostic machine?
6. What are the parameters does the quality of diagnostic X-ray depends on?
7. Follow up to question 3: How it depends on applied voltage?
8. Write the expression for workload of X-ray machine?
9. What type of target is used in diagnostic unit?
10. Explain ‘heel’ effect?
11. How much is the approximate dose , one receives during chest X-ray?
12. Typical shielding design of various diagnostic units such as mammogram, CT.
13. Mammography and its typical kVp range?
14. What type of target material used in mammography and why?
15. What is CTDI, DLP and DAP?
16. How to find CTDI?
 17. How to measure leakage levels in diagnostic unit?
18. What is the aim of diagnostic radiology?
19. What is the table top exposure in fluroscopy?
20. What is the permissible table top exposure level and leakage radiation level for
diagnostic X-ray machine?
21. What is the permissible leakage radiation level for mammography?
22. What is the kVp and mAs for mammography?
23. What is the material used as anode in mammography?
Chapter 9 Nuclear Medicine
1. What type of emergencies can occur in nuclear medicine?
2. what are the isotopes used in PET?
3. Brief delay tank procedure
4. What is the RHM of F18?
5. What is the half life of F-18?
6. Is the RHM of fluorine greater the technetium?
7. Draw on board , typical layout of PET-CT facility
8. Type of misadministration in nuclear medicine department?
9. What is the dose limit to the fetus and why is it so?
10. Limit to discharge the patient injected with I131 for high dose and low dose therapy?
11. The therapy is said to be high dose therapy, when how much mCi is injected into
patient?
12. What are the contraindication of diagnosis or therapy in nuclear medicine?
13. What are things that are to be necessarily kept in high dose therapy ward?
14. What are the instruction given to patients before and after high dose therapy?
15. Where do you administer dose to the high dose therapy patients and low dose
therapy patients?
16. What is the capacity of sewage tank of 2 bedded isolation facility?
17. What is contamination? Why ionization chamber is not recommended for use in
nuclear medicine laboratories to detect contamination?
18. How to measure the contamination?
 19. In case of PET scan, especially while using FDG, after being injected into the patient ,
what are the advice give to them?
20. List some of the commonly used isotopes in NM department.
21. Where will you store the radioisotopes in the lab?
22. What are the equipment’s and instruments used in NM department?
23. What is internal radiation hazard and external radiation hazard?
24. Is it true that both I 125 and I 131 emit same type of radiation?
25. What is the use of Lu 177 in nuclear medicine?
26. What is meant by flood source and what is it used for?
27. What is the surface contamination limit of alpha and beta particle in monitored area?
Chapter 10 Radiotherapy
1. How do you check field size using film?
2. what is the use of build up material?
3. Which film can be used for dose measurement?
4. Why Linac output is calibrated in terms MU?
5. Brief about emergency situation while using LINAC?
6. In electron mode, scattering foil is not is position. What could possibly go wrong?
7. What type of target is used in LINAC?
8. Why do you here a sound during the beam on in linear accelerator?
9. What is the typical source dimension of telecobalt source?
10. Why SSD of telecobalt is changed from 80cm to 100cm?
11. Relation between source dimension, SSD and penumbra?
12. What happens when the source dimension is made smaller?
13. Why are we using fractionation in radiotherapy?
14. How many fractionation are normally used for a patient in conventional
fractionation?
15. Explain the safety measures you follow in the department to avoid patient related
radiation accidents?
16. Flattening filter is made of what material?
17. Name few QA tests performed for TPS.
 18. If the TPS used for Co60 shows the beam profile, will it change by time or days?
If yes or no what is the reason?
19. How will you apply decay correction factor for cobalt 60?
20. What is approx. decay correction of output every month in Co60 ?
21. What is the leakage radiation level in Co60 on and off condition?
22. Difference between leakage and Contamination?
23. How will you identify contamination in HDR brachytherapy unit?
24. What is the leakage and contamination level in brachytherapy?
25. Draw the depth dose curves of Co60 and 6MV X-ray beam.
26. Define Flatness and symmetry.
27. How will you measure flatness and symmetry?
28. Explain TG 43 formalism, briefly
29. How to do light gamma check?
30. How will you measure collimator transmission?
31. Briefly explain few monthly QA for LINAC.
32. What are the acceptance test for TPS? , Explain few test which can be verified
manually.
33. At what depth Dmax occurs for 4MV, 6MV, 6FFF and 15 MV?
34. Is hot loading in brachytherapy is done still now?
35. Define QA and QC in radiotherapy?
36. Neutron capture in boron capture therapy?
37. Neutron capture in fast neutron therapy?
38. Explain DLG, and how to find it?
39. Explain winston lutz test?
40. What is penumbra?
41. What are the types of penumbra?
42. Define dosimetric penumbra?
Chapter 11 Radiation Protection Standards
1. Risk estimate for public and radiation worker based on ICRP 60 and ICRP 103?
2. What is the unit of risk estimate?
3. Why risk is more for public?
4. How many times the children are more sensitive to radiation than adults?
5. Define LD 50/60
6. What syndrome occurs due to LD 50/60?
7. Example for deterministic effect and stochastic effect?
8. Is there any change in dose limits in the new ICRP publication (i.e. ICRP 103)?
9. What is the radiation weighting factor for proton, why it is change in ICRP 103?
10. What does the latency period means?
11. what is the latency period for breast and thyroid?
12. What is the latent period for leukemia?
13. What is the difference between teletherapy and brachytherapy?
14. What is meant by stochastic and deterministic effect
15. What is meant by the term detriment?
16. What is the radiation weighting factor of alpha, electrons, protons and neutrons?
17. Compare the radiation weighting factor mentioned in ICRP 103 and 60?
18. Why neutron radiation weighting factor is a continuous curve in ICRP 103?
19. What are the principle of radiation protection?
20. What is the dosimetric system followed in ICRP 60 and ICRP 103?
21. What are type of exposure situation mentioned in ICRP 60 and ICRP 103?
22. No of generations considered for risk estimation of hereditable effects in ICRP 103?
23. List tissue weighting factors mentioned for organs in ICRP 103 and how it differs from
ICRP 60?
24. Which is the most sensitive organ according to ICRP 60?
25. What is the proportion of risk models is used to obtain tissue weighting factor for
lung in ICRP 103?
26. What is planned exposure situation?
27. What is emergency exposure situation?
28. What is existing exposure situation?
29. What is the reference level for occupation exposure in life saving situation according
to ICRP103?
 30. What is the intervention level for other urgent rescue operations according to ICRP
60?
31. Do commission acknowledges the protections of other species and animals in ICRP
103?
Chapter 12 Radiation Hazard Evaluation and Control
1. Occupational dose limit for radiation worker by AERB?
2. On what basis the occupational dose limits are set?
3. On what basis public dose limits are set?
4. What is the dose limit for comforters?
5. how much is annual dose limits for public and radiation workers recommended by
AERB?
6. What is the aim of personnel monitoring programme as outlined in RPR?
7. what is the difference between equivalent dose and effective dose?
8. 3 mR/hr is the exposure rate-> Is it under the public occupancy limit or not?
9. Can 2Ci cobalt 60 source can be used for treatment in the room designed for 10 Ci
Iridium source?
10. What is workload, use factor and occupancy factor?
11. How will you calculate brachytherapy workload?
12. Definition of HVT and TVT.
13. Relation between HVT and TVT
14. Draw the exponential curve of HVL.
15. Is the first HVL is of same thickness as second HVL?
16. What is the exposure rate at 25cm when the exposure at 1m is 100mR ?
17. How will you find depth of a known source buried inside the ground?
18. If there are two similar sources of cobalt 60 and Cs 137, how will you identify the
source?
19. Can we place a Co60 source in a treatment unit designed for Ir192 source? If not,
why it is not possible?
20. How will you establish the dose, if radiation worker has not worn TLD badge?
21. Where is gamma zone monitor used and what is the purpose of having it?
22. Why gamma zone monitors are not used in LINAC?
 23. At what distance from the source, workload is calculated?
24. What is the typical permitted radiation level of workers per hour?
25. What type of material is used for neutron shielding and its mechanism?
26. What are the methods to shield from beta rays?
27. HVT and TVT of lead for Co60 ?
28. Exposure rate in 150mR/hr at a place, time spent in that place is 5 mins, what is the
exposure?
29. shielding materials for fast and slow neutron.
30. A neutron emitting source emits 107 neutrons per second, what is the fluence at 1m?
31. Radiation level at the console of diagnostic room is 2mR/hr, whether it is at
acceptable limit or not?
32. The radiation level at 50 cm is 400mR/hr and what is the radiation level at 1m?
33. How to perform area survey in LINAC installation?
34. How to measure leakage radiation in telecobalt machine?
35. How to measure leakage radiation in Linac?
36. What are the allowed leakage level under i) collimator open ii) collimator clodes
37. how will you measure collimator transmission?
38. What is the purpose of maze wall?
39. Why Co60 machine bunkers have tapered walls?
40. Why it is advantageous to use boron instead of cadmium for shielding thermal
neutrons?
Chapter 13 Disposal of Radioactive waste
1. When will you dispose the effluent from the delay tank to sewage system?
2. How will you measure the activity of effluent in the delay tank?
3. What are the type of wastes being generated in NM and how to manage the
radioactive wastes?
4. What is the disposal limit of ground burial for P32 radionuclide ?
Chapter 14 Transport of Radioactive Material
1. What type of package is used for source transport in radiotherapy?
2. Can we transport Co60 brachytherapy source in a package designed for Ir 192?
 3. Explain type B(U) package, is it necessary to get competent authority approval for
transport of type B(U) package?
4. What is the type of package telecobalt is transported?
5. What is the type of package Ir-192 is transported?
6. What are the information one should look on the package?
7. What is the radiation level permitted on the surface of the package?
8. How will you find transport index and category of package?
9. Explain marking in transport of the radioactive material.
10. Explain labelling in the transport of the radioactive material.
11. Explain term transport index and what it is used for?
12. Explain A1 and A2 values.
Chapter 15 Regulatory Aspects for Medical Radiation Facilities
1. What are the duties of RSO in radiotherapy facility?
2. What are the duties of RSO in nuclear medicine facility?
3. What are the difference between exclusion and exemption?
4. As an RSO how will you establish a radiotherapy facility with LINAC, explain briefly?
5. Under which act RPR2004 is framed?
6. Who is the competent authority the exercise the powers conferred under the Atomic
Energy Radiation Protection Rules 2004 ?
7. When was RP rules formed and when was it update?
8. If you get a new job in hospital, what you do first as as radiation professional?
9. Explain the regulatory process of decommissioning an telecobalt machine?
10. Explain the regulatory process of decommissioning an diagnostic equipment?
11. What are the steps to be followed during loss of source?
12. If Iodine 131 is spilled on floor, what will you do as RSO?
13. For how many years the license is valid if not mentioned in it?
Chapter 16 Radiation Emergencies and Medical Management
1. What is chromosomal aberration test?
2. What is the time period for the appearance of depression of blood count?
chapter 17 Emergency Response Plan and Preparedness
1. Two Teletherapy machine with Co60 source got stuck during the treatment,
1st machine has physical wedge, while the other machine doesn’t, In which case
there is more radiation hazard?
2. What are the indications that source got struck in telecobalt machine?
3. As an RSO , What will you do if the Co60 source got struck?
4. How will you identify and handle the spillage of radioactive source?
5. How will you handle the death of patient with radioactive source in nuclear
medicine?
6. Dose limit to handover the deceased for cremation?
7. How will you exercise control over contamination in NM lab and how will you ensure
that the radiation workers are being protected from internal contamination in lab?
8. List the procedure to be followed in case of loss of radioactive source?
9. Explain the procedure to be followed in case of overexposure?