Photon attenuation parameters for some tissues from Geant4 simulation, theoretical calculations and experimental data: a comparative study

Mass attenuation coefficients, effective atomic numbers, effective electron densities and Kerma relative to air for adipose, muscle and bone tissues have been investigated in the photon energy region from 20 keV up to 50 MeV with Geant4 simulation package and theoretical calculations. Based on Geant4 results of the mass attenuation coefficients, the effective atomic numbers for the tissue models have been calculated. The calculation results have been compared with the values of the Auto-Zeff program and with other studies available in the literature. Moreover, Kerma of studied tissues relative to air has been determined and found to be dependent on the absorption edges of the tissue constituent elements.