Introduction to Radiation:

Radiation Units

©Health Physics Society

 Introduction to Radiation

• Objectives
• To provide useful information about
radiation for interested individuals
• To introduce basic concepts of radiation
and radioactivity
• To improve understanding of radiation –
what it is and how it interacts
 Radioactivity Units

• International Unit
• becquerel (Bq)
• U.S. Unit
• curie (Ci)

• 1 Ci = 37 GBq
• 1 mCi = 37 MBq
• 1 µCi = 37 kBq
 Radiation Exposure Units
• International Unit
• coulomb per kilogram (C/kg)
• U.S. Unit
• roentgen (R)
• defined only for measurement in air
• applies only to x and gamma rays up
to energies of about 3 MeV
• 1 R = 2.58 x 10-4 C/kg
• 1 mR = 0.258 C/kg
• 1 µR = 258 C/kg
 Radiation Exposure Units

• Roentgen
• Historically used to measure the
amount of energy in a photon
beam just prior to entering the
skin of a patient

• Often still used when discussing

the entrance skin exposure for
medical x-ray exams
 Radiation Absorbed Dose Units

• International Unit
• gray (Gy)
• U.S. Unit
• rad

• 1 rad = 0.01 Gy
• 1 mrad = 0.01 mGy
• 1 µrad = 0.01 µGy
 Radiation Absorbed Dose Units

• Radiation absorbed dose is the

amount of energy deposited per
unit of tissue.

• It is usually measured in ergs per

gram or joules per kilogram.
Radiation Effective Dose Units

• International Unit
• sievert (Sv)
• U.S. Unit
• rem

• 1 rem = 0.01 Sv
• 1 mrem = 0.01 mSv
• 1 µrem = 0.01 µSv
 Radiation Effective Dose Units

• Effective dose is used to represent “how

good” the absorbed dose of radiation
might be at producing an effect – so it
accounts for the effectiveness or quality
of the radiation.

• Effective dose also includes a factor

representing the sensitivity of the tissue
to the radiation – so it also accounts for
how the tissue might react.