In calculating Effective Dose (E), what does WT stand for?

In the context of calculating Effective Dose (E) in radiation protection, WT refers to the Tissue Weighting Factor. This factor is crucial because it represents the relative sensitivity of different tissues and organs to the effects of ionizing radiation. Each tissue in the body has a different level of susceptibility to radiation-induced harm, and by applying the corresponding weighting factor, the Effective Dose can provide a more comprehensive assessment of the potential biological effect of radiation exposure.

The Tissue Weighting Factors are assigned values based on epidemiological data that indicate how much risk of cancer or radiation-related health effects is attributable to radiation exposure of specific organs relative to the whole body. Therefore, the overall Effective Dose is calculated by summing the products of the dose received by each organ and its associated Tissue Weighting Factor. This allows for a standardized method of expressing the risk from non-uniform radiation exposure across the body, offering a better framework for comparing the impact of different exposure scenarios on human health.