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NCINM: National Cancer Institute dosimetry system for Nuclear Medicine

NCICM text on top of upper body scan images

Advances in Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging and the increasing number of radiopharmaceuticals have resulted in a surge of diagnostic nuclear medicine applications. Therapeutic applications are also gaining ground because of the possibility for systemic, targeted treatments. NCINM, the National Cancer Institute dosimetry system for Nuclear Medicine, has been developed to provide accurate dosimetry for patients undergoing nuclear medicine procedures.

State-of-the-art Phantoms

Most of the current dosimetry tools for nuclear medicine procedures are based on simplified phantoms developed in 1990s or do not account for patient body size. NCINM incorporates state-of-the-art pediatric and adult computational human phantoms. NCINM also adopts the Specific Absorbed Fraction data for the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) reference adult male and female phantoms in the ICRP Publication 1331 and will be extended to the pediatric data once available from the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). Implementation of additional non-human data including mice, canine, and primate is in progress.

Comprehensive Dosimetry Database

NCINM includes a comprehensive library of dose conversion coefficients for various radionuclides, called S values, which convert cumulated activities into organ absorbed dose. The program covers up to 70 source regions and 60 target regions defined within the human anatomy. S values are available for a total of 300 clinically-relevant radionuclides for which energy spectra were obtained from the ICRP Publication 1072.

Screenshot of NCINM graphic user interface - image of a human body with list of variables

Graphical User Interface of NCINM where users can select computational human phantoms, radionuclides, and input residence time (or cumulated activity) in different source regions.

Intuitive User Interface

NCINM provides an intuitive graphical user interface allowing users to select from twelve pediatric and adult phantoms, enter the radionuclide and injected activity, and organ residence times (or cumulated activity). Data is available for 300 radionuclides, 70 source regions, and 55 target regions. NCINM rapidly calculates the organ dose and dose per administered activity. All input and output processes are conducted in a single window. NCINM runs on multiple platforms including Windows, Mac, and LINUX.

How to Access This Resource

Non-Commercial Research Use

There is no charge to use these resources for non-commercial research purposes. Please submit a Software Transfer Agreement form to Dr. Choonsik Lee.

Commercial Use

Contact Dr. Kevin Chang of the NCI Technology Transfer Center to discuss the licensing process for commercial use.

For answers to questions and other support, join the NCI Hub - Group: NCI Dose Forum.

Selected References

  1. ICRP. The ICRP Computational Framework for Internal Dose Assessment for Reference Adults: Specific Absorbed Fractions. ICRP Publ 133 Ann ICRP. 2016.

    [PubMed Abstract]

  2. ICRP. Nuclear Decay Data for Dosimetric Calculations. ICRP Publ 107 Ann ICRP. 2008.

    [PubMed Abstract]
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