Evaluation of the characteristics of the neutron beam of a linac-based neutron source for boron neutron capture therapy

Hiroaki Kumada; Kenta Takada; Susumu Tanaka; Yoshitaka Matsumoto; Fujio Naito; Toshikazu Kurihara; Takashi Sugimura; Masaharu Sato; Akira Matsumura; Hideyuki Sakurai; Takeji Sakae

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2020.109246

Evaluation of the characteristics of the neutron beam of a linac-based neutron source for boron neutron capture therapy

Appl Radiat Isot. 2020 Nov:165:109246. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2020.109246. Epub 2020 Jul 6.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1, Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan. Electronic address: kumada@pmrc.tsukuba.ac.jp.
² Gunma Prefectural College of Health Sciences, 323-1, Kamiokimachi, Maebashi, 317-0052, Japan.
³ Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1, Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan.
⁴ High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, 1-1, Oho, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0801, Japan.

PMID: 32692654
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2020.109246

Abstract

The linac-base neutron source "iBNCT" developed by the Tsukuba team has begun to generate a large intensity of neutrons. To confirm the applicability of the device to BNCT, several characteristic measurements have been implemented. In a water phantom experiment, when the accelerator was operated with an average current of 1.4 mA, the maximum thermal neutron flux was approximately 7.8 × 10⁸ (n/cm²/s). Results demonstrate the stability of the linac over time, showing its promising potential for future patient treatment.

Keywords: Accelerator-based neutron source; BNCT; Beryllium target; Neutron measurement.

MeSH terms

Boron Neutron Capture Therapy / methods*
Equipment Design
Neutrons*
Particle Accelerators / instrumentation
Phantoms, Imaging
Reproducibility of Results