Fission Reactor-Based Irradiation Facilities for Neutron Capture Therapy
In this chapter, a brief overview is provided of fission reactor-based epithermal neutron irradiation facilities designed for neutron capture therapy. The overview is intended to give those who are interested in establishing this type of facility some per
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Fission Reactor-Based Irradiation Facilities for Neutron Capture Therapy Otto K. Harling and Kent J. Riley
Contents 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 2.1.1 Beam Characteristics ........................................................................................... 2.1.2 Beam Monitoring and Control ............................................................................. 2.1.3 Irradiation Facility and Patient Support ............................................................... 2.1.4 Summary ..............................................................................................................
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2.2 Approaches to Using Reactors for Epithermal Neutron NCT ..................................
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2.3 Performance of Some Current Epithermal Neutron Irradiation Facilities .............
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2.4 A State-of-the-Art Epithermal Neutron Irradiation Facility ....................................
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2.5 Summary ........................................................................................................................
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References ...............................................................................................................................
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2.1
Introduction
The principal objective of beam design for neutron capture therapy is to create a uniform distribution of low-energy (thermal) neutrons in the targeted treatment volume which may include a margin around the enhancing tumor as well as regions with suspected infiltrating disease. Buildup and broadening in the thermal neutron distribution are usually evident that are created as incident, higher energy neutrons slow down via elastic scattering interactions while passing through hydrogenous O.K. Harling Nuclear Science and Engineering Department, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA e-mail: [email protected] K.J. Riley (*) Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA e-mail: [email protected] W.A.G. Sauerwein et al. (eds.), Neutron Capture Therapy, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-31334-9_2, © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012
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tissue. Tumor dose conformity is attained by thermal neutron capture in boron that is selectively targeted to the tumor and retained during irradiation. This binary strategy mitigates the need for complex tailoring of the beam spatial profile. The treatment volume can therefore be considerably larger than in conventional radiotherapy as the dose absorbed in normal tissue from the neutron beam itself is smaller than neutron capture in tumors containing boron. Neutron beams do require collimation to help avoid irradiating organs or other normal tissues peripheral to the field that may be radiosensitive or retain some of the administered boron. The adventitious dose whether from neutrons interacting with the constituents of normal tissue or boron retained in normal tissue should also be limited for critical organs both inside and outside
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