OPERATION AND APPLICATION OF TISSUE-EQUIVALENT PROPORTIONAL-COUNTERS

The application of TEPCs during the past decades in dosimetry, radiati on protection and radiation therapy has revealed their large potential but also the necessity of careful operation. This paper reviews the e xperience gathered in the past and summarises the experimental procedu res to ensure proper TEPC operation. The measurement system is describ ed including detector, electronics and quality assurance. The pulse he ight analysis and its interpretation in terms of microdosimetric spect ra and mean values are presented as well as the variance method. On th e basis of these evaluation procedures, the second pan of the paper pr esents some typical examples of TEPC applications: dose spectrometry, time-of-flight techniques and the measurement of dose equivalent quant ities. Special attention is paid to possible extensions but also to li mitations of the use of TEPCs in the various fields of application.