Committee on Medical Internal Radiation Dose

Committee Mission

Develop and provide a standardized framework and methodology for calculation of internal dose quantities in nuclear medicine. 

Committee Charges

  • Compile, evaluate and disseminate data needed to implement standardized internal dosimetry methods including radionuclide decay properties and emissions, energy absorbed fractions and anatomic models. 
  • Collect and assess experimental and peer-reviewed data to publish dose estimate reports for selected new radiopharmaceuticals which significantly impact the current practice of nuclear medicine. 

Committee Members

  • Svetlana V. Selivanova, PhD (Board Liaison)
  • Alejandro Bertolet, PhD (Committee Member)
  • Wesley E. Bolch, PhD (Committee Member)
  • Julia Brosch-Lenz, PhD (Committee Member)
  • Yuni K. Dewaraja, PhD, FSNMMI (Committee Member)
  • Roger W. Howell, PhD, FSNMMI (Committee Member)
  • Adam L. Kesner, PhD (Committee Member)
  • Richard Laforest, PhD (Committee Member)
  • Juan C. Ocampo, PhD, DABSNM (Committee Member)
  • Carlos F. Uribe, PhD, MCCPM (Committee Member)

Committee Reports

Recent Key Accomplishments

  • MIRD Pamphlet 33: MIRDpvc – A Software Tool for Recovery Coefficient-Based Partial-Volume Correction. (2025)
  • MIRD Pamphlet 32: A MIRD Recovery Coefficient Model for Resolution Characterization and Shape-Specific Partial-Volume Correction. (2025)
  • MIRD Pamphlet 31: MIRDcell V4-Artificial Intelligence Tools to Formulate Optimized Radiopharmaceutical Cocktails for Therapy. (2024)
  • MIRD Pamphlet 30: MIRDfit-A Tool for Fitting of Biodistribution Time-Activity Data for Internal Dosimetry. (2024)
  • MIRD Pamphlet 29: MIRDy90-A 90Y Research Microsphere Dosimetry Tool. (2024)

MIRD Software Tools

  • Dynamic Bladder Software Tool. An interactive software application that implements the dynamic bladder model described in MIRD Pamphlet No. 14, Revised.
  • Kidney Dose-Response. An interactive application which implements the kidney dosimetry model described in MIRD Pamphlet No. 20. The web tool requires a login and password.
  • MIRDcell. An interactive software application described in MIRD Pamphlets 25, 27, and 31 and in a User Manual that performs radiation absorbed dose and response modeling for cells and numerous geometries of multicellular clusters. 
  • MIRDcalc. The MIRDcalc internal dose calculation software has been developed as a community tool for calculating organ-level radiopharmaceutical dosimetry. The software enables biodistribution-to-dosimetry calculations using the MIRD schema and incorporates calculation-specific details for 333 isotopes (ICRP Publication 107) and a family of 12 ICRP reference phantoms with 81 source organs/regions and 43 target organ/regions and up to 5 spherical tumors. A User Manual is provided.
  • MIRDfit. Enables accurate and reproducible time integrated activity estimation by offering nuclear medicine–specific fit functions, objective metrics for model selection, and robust uncertainty calculations. A  User Manual is provided.
  • MIRDsoft. MIRDsoft hosts a suite of free software applications designed and developed to support the medical radiation dose community.
  • MIRDy90. A research tool to help evaluate patient-specific prescribed activities for 90Y beads calculated via different models, namely, body-surface area (BSA), MIRD single compartment, MIRD dual compartment (partition) and multi compartment. A User Manual is provided.
  • MIRDpvc. Supports standardized and accessible partial-volume correction (PVC) in quantitative PET and SPECT imaging. A User Manual is provided.

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MIRD Awards and Education

MIRD Books

  • MIRD Radiobiology and Dosimetry for Radiopharmaceutical Therapy with Alpha-Particle Emitters. This monograph reviews pioneering and current studies related to targeted alpha-particle-emitter therapy and provides guidance and recommendations for human dosimetry.
  • MIRD Decay Schemes 2nd Edition. This updated edition of MIRD: Radionuclide Data and Decay Schemes is an essential sourcebook for radiation dosimetry and understanding the properties of radionuclides.
  • MIRD Head and Brain Dosimetry. Addresses available neuroimaging applications in nuclear medicine internal dosimetry for both children and adults. Contains comprehensive tables of absorbed fractions and S values for all models and radiopharmaceuticals, along with steps for verifying calculations and tabulations.
  • MIRD Cellular S Values. Provides tools necessary to estimate the absorbed dose at the cellular level from intracellularly localized radionuclides using cellular S values for emitters of monoenergetic electrons and alpha particles and almost all radionuclides. 
  • MIRD Primer 2022.  Absorbed dose and related quantities are the key predictors of the beneficial (therapeutic) effects of radiation and of the risk and/or severity of its adverse effects. The estimation of such dosimetric parameters is challenging, however, particularly for radiopharmaceuticals. Richly illustrated and thoroughly referenced, the MIRD Primer is a comprehensive, state-of-the-art guide to radiopharmaceutical dosimetry that reflects the dramatic evolution of the field of nuclear medicine, including molecular imaging and, increasingly, radiopharmaceutical therapy.

MIRD Pamphlets

  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 33: MIRDpvc – A Software Tool for Recovery Coefficient-Based Partial-Volume Correction. (2025)
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 32: A MIRD Recovery Coefficient Model for Resolution Characterization and Shape-Specific Partial-Volume Correction. (2025)
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 31: MIRDcell V4-Artificial Intelligence Tools to Formulate Optimized Radiopharmaceutical Cocktails for Therapy. (2024)
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 30: MIRDfit-A Tool for Fitting of Biodistribution Time-Activity Data for Internal Dosimetry. (2024)
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 29: MIRDy90-A 90Y Research Microsphere Dosimetry Tool. (2024)
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 28: Part 1: MIRDcalc-A Software Tool for Medical Internal Radiation Dosimetry. (2023)
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 28: Part 2: Comparative Evaluation of MIRDcalc Dosimetry Software Across a Compendium of Diagnostic Radiopharmaceuticals. (2023)
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 27: MIRDcell V3, a Revised Software Tool for Multicellular Dosimetry and Bioeffect Modeling. (2022)
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 26: Joint EANM/MIRD Guidelines for Quantitative 177Lu SPECT applied for dosimetry of radiopharmaceutical therapy. (2016)
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 25: MIRDcell V2.0 software tool for dosimetric analysis of biological response of multicellular populations. (2014)
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 24: Guidelines for quantitative 131I SPECT in dosimetry applications. (2013)
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 23: Quantitative SPECT for patient-specific 3-dimensional dosimetry in internal radionuclide therapy. (2012)
  • MIRD Publication Pamphlet No. 22 (Abridged): Radiobiology and Dosimetry of α-Particle Emitters for Targeted Radionuclide Therapy. (2010)
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 22: Radiobiology and Dosimetry of Alpha-Particle Emitters for Targeted Radionuclide Therapy. (2010)
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 21: A Generalized Schema for Radiopharmaceutical Dosimetry—Standardization of Nomenclature. (2009)
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 20: The Effect of Model Assumptions on Kidney Dosimetry and Response—Implications for Radionuclide Therapy. (2008)
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 19: Absorbed Fractions and Radionuclide S Values for Six Age-Dependent Multiregion Models of the Kidney. (2003)
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 18: Administered Cumulated Activity for Ventilation Studies. (2001)
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 17: The Dosimetry of Nonuniform Activity Distributions—Radionuclide S Values at the Voxel Level. J Nucl Med 1999; 40:11S-36S; MIRD Supplement. (1999)
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 16: Techniques for Quantitative Radiopharmaceutical Biodistribution Data Acquisition and Analysis for Use in Human Radiation Dose Estimates. (1999)
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 15: Radionuclide S Values in a Revised Dosimetric Model of the Adult Head and Brain. (1999)
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 14 Revised: A Dynamic Urinary Bladder Model for Radiation Dose Calculations. (1999)
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 13: Specific Absorbed Fractions for Photon Sources Uniformly Distributed in the Heart Chambers and Heart Wall.
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 12: Kinetic Models for Absorbed Dose Calculations (1977).
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 11: S, Absorbed Dose per Unit Cumulated Activity for Selected Radionuclides and Organs (1975).
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 10: Radionuclide Decay Schemes and Nuclear Parameters for Use in Radiation-Dose Estimation (1975). Superseded by MIRD Decay Schemes 2nd Edition.
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 9: Radiation Dose to Humans from 75Se-L-Selenomethionine (April 1972). J. Nucl. Med. 13, Supplement Number 6.
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 8: Absorbed Fractions for Small Volumes Containing Photon Emitting Radioactivity (1971). J. Nucl. Med. 12, Supplement No. 5, 25-32.
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 7: Distribution of Absorbed Dose Around Point Sources of Electrons and Beta Particles in Water and Other Media (1971). J. Nucl. Med. 12, Supplement No. 5, 5-23.
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 6: Radionuclide Decay Schemes and Nuclear Parameters for Use in Radiation-Dose Estimation, Part 2. Superseded by MIRD Decay Schemes 2nd Edition.
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 5, Revised: Estimates of Absorbed Fractions for Photon Sources Uniformly Distributed in Various Organs of a Heterogeneous Phantom (1978).
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 4: Radionuclide Decay Schemes and Nuclear Parameters for Use in Radiation-Dose Estimation. Superseded by MIRD Decay Schemes 2nd Edition.
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 3: Absorbed Fractions for Photon Dosimetry (1968). J. Nucl. Med. 9, Supplement No. 1, 27-39.
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 2: Energy Deposition in Water by Photons from Point Isotropic Sources (1968). J. Nucl. Med. 9, Supplement No. 1, 15-25.
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 1, Revised: A Revised Schema for Calculating the Absorbed Dose from Biologically Distributed Radionuclides (1975). Superseded by MIRD Primer 2022.
  • MIRD Pamphlet No. 1: A Schema for Absorbed-dose Calculations for Biologically Distributed Radionuclides (1968). J. Nucl. Med. 9, Supplement No. 1, 7-14. Superseded by MIRD Primer 2022.
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MIRD Dose Estimate Reports

MIRD Commentaries

  • MIRD Commentary: Proposed Name for a Dosimetry Unit Applicable to Deterministic Biological Effects—The Barendsen (Bd). (2009). This commentary makes a case for the introduction of a new unit for reporting the ICRU recommended quantity of equieffective dose.
  • The MIRD Perspective 1999. (1999). This commentary reviews the history of the MIRD Schema, and presents the key equations that constitute the method. It clarifies misconceptions regarding presumed limitations of the MIRD Schema by describing its use for nonuniform distributions of radioactivity, and spatial scales ranging from organ, suborgan, multicellular and cellular. Furthermore, it describes the importance of connecting MIRD absorbed dose calculations with observed biological effects thereby setting the stage for integrating the MIRD Schema and radiobiology.
  • Application of the Effective Dose Equivalent to Nuclear Medicine Patients: (1993). This commentary explains the MIRD Committee’s position on the use of effective dose equivalent in nuclear medicine. “while the use of effective dose equivalent may well be appropriate for group considerations such as radiation protection for occupationally cx posed groups of workers (including those in nuclear medicine) and volunteers entering investigational protocols, it is inappropriate to use the effective dose equivalent for individual patients undergoing nuclear medicine procedures.”
  • Activities of the Medical Internal Dose Committee. Edward M. Smith. J Nucl Med 1968; Supplement Number 1, 5-6.

Past MIRD Committee Members (1968-present)

  • S James Adelstein
  • Harold L. Atkins
  • Martin J. Berger
  • Mones Berman
  • Monte Blau (Chair)
  • A. Bertrand Brill
  • Gordon L. Brownell
  • Thomas F. Budinger
  • Roger J. Cloutier (Chair)
  • Karin R. Corey
  • Thomas Dillman
  • William H. Ellet
  • Frederick Fahey
  • Darrell R. Fisher
  • Marguerite T. Hays
  • Robert Francois Hobbs, PhD
  • R Eugene Johnston
  • Amin I. Kassis
  • Katherine A. Lathrop
  • John S. Laughlin
  • Robert Loevinger
  • Carol Marcus
  • John McAfee
  • Kenneth R. McCormack
  • Ruby F. Meredith
  • Jonathan P. Miller
  • Richard Peterson
  • John W. Poston
  • James S. Robertson
  • Robert H. Rohrer
  • George Sgouros (Chair)
  • Jeffry A. Siegel
  • Edward M. Smith (Chair)
  • Walter Snyder
  • Michael G. Stabin
  • Stephen R. Thomas (Chair)
  • Henry N. Wagner, Jr.
  • Evelyn Watson (Chair)
  • David Weber (Chair)
  • Henry N. Wellman
  • Barry W. Wessels