https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-026-07772-9
Regular Article
Monte Carlo assessment of innovative lead-free polymer composites for optimized thyroid shielding in nuclear medicine
1
Faculty of Sciences, Angers University, 2 Bd. Lavoisier, 49045, Angers, France
2
Sciences and Engineering of Biomedicals, Biophysics and Health Laboratory, Higher Institute of Health Sciences, Hassan First University, 26000, Settat, Morocco
3
Higher Institute of Nursing Professions and Health Techniques, Rabat, Morocco
a
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Received:
21
December
2025
Accepted:
30
April
2026
Published online:
22
May
2026
Abstract
Thyroid radiation exposure remains a major concern in nuclear medicine, where conventional lead shields present toxicity, rigidity and ergonomic limitations. This study introduces new lead-free polymer composites reinforced with high-atomic-number fillers as efficient, lightweight and non-toxic alternatives for thyroid protection. Epoxy- and polyester-based composites were formulated with bismuth oxide (Bi2O3), iron oxide (Fe2O3), copper sulfate (CuSO4) and iodine (I2). Their radiological properties, mass and linear attenuation coefficients (MAC, LAC), half-value layer (HVL) and effective atomic number (Zeff), were first determined using Phy-X/PSD and subsequently validated by Monte Carlo simulations with the GATE/Geant4 platform for photon energies corresponding to Tc-99 m (140 keV), I-131 (364 keV) and F-18 (511 keV). Dose reduction in a digital thyroid phantom was also evaluated for various material thicknesses (0.05–1 cm) and compared to a standard 0.05 cm lead shield. All bismuth-based composites demonstrated superior attenuation performance, with mass attenuation coefficients up to 1.30 cm2/g and HVL values as low as 0.078 cm at low photon energies. The optimized sample S21 (epoxy + Bi2O3/Pb blend) achieved up to 90% thyroid dose reduction at only 0.5 cm thickness, showing comparable performance to the conventional lead reference. The developed composites provide effective shielding suitable for targeted thyroid protection in nuclear medicine, particularly in application-specific scenarios where localized neck shielding may be beneficial. Their high attenuation efficiency, combined with significant dose reduction and the elimination of lead toxicity, highlights their potential as next-generation materials for personalized radiological safety devices.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2026
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
