Renovation of epithermal neutron beam for BNCT at THOR.

Heading for possible use for clinical trial, THOR (Tsing Hua Open-pool Reactor) at Taiwan was shutdown for renovation of a new epithermal neutron beam in January 2003. In November 2003, concrete cutting was finished for closer distance from core and larger treatment room. This article presents the design base that the construction of the new beam is based on. The filter/moderator design along the beam is Cd(0.1cm)+Al(10 cm)+FLUENTAL (16 cm)+Al(10 cm)+FLUENTAL(24 cm)+Void(18 cm)+Cd(0.1cm)+Bi(10 cm) with 6 cm Pb as reflector. Following the filter/moderator is an 88 cm long, 6 cm thick Bi-lined collimator with Li(2)CO(3)-PE at the end. The collimator is surrounded by Li(2)CO(3)-PE and Pb. The calculated beam parameters under 2 MW at the beam exit is phi(epi) = 3.4 x 10(9) n/cm(2)/s, Df/phi(epi) = 2.8 x 10(-11) cGy cm(2)/n, Dgamma/phi(epi) = 1.3 x 10(-11) cGy cm(2)/n, and J+/phi = 0.8. For a phantom placed 10 cm from beam exit, MCNP calculation shows that the advantage depth is 8.9 cm, and advantage ratio is 5.6 if boron concentration in tumor and normal tissue are assumed to be 65 and 18 ppm. The maximum dose rate for normal tissue is 50 cGy/min. The maximum therapeutic ratio is 6. The construction of the beam is scheduled to be finished by the end of April 2004.     

Dose estimation of animal experiments at the THOR BNCT beam by NCTPlan and Xplan

Dose estimation of animal experiments affects many subsequent derived quantities, such as RBE and CBE values. It is important to ensure the trustiness of calculated dose of the irradiated animals. However, the dose estimation was normally calculated using simplified geometries and tissue compositions, which led to rough results. This paper introduces the use of treatment planning systems NCTplan and Xplan for the dose estimation. A mouse was taken as an example and it was brought to hospital for micro-PET/CT scan. It was found that the critical organ doses of an irradiated mouse calculated by simplified model were unreliable in comparison to Xplan voxel model. The difference could reach the extent of several tenths percent. It is recommended that a treatment planning system should be introduced to future animal experiments to upgrade the data quality.     

Characteristics of the new THOR epithermal neutron beam for BNCT.

A characterization of the new Tsing Hua open-pool reactor (THOR) epithermal neutron beam designed for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) has been performed. The facility is currently under construction and expected in completion in March 2004. The designed epithermal neutron flux for 1 MW power is 1.7x10(9)n cm(-2)s(-1) in air at the beam exit, accompanied by photon and fast neutron absorbed dose rates of 0.21 and 0.47 mGys(-1), respectively. With (10)B concentrations in normal tissue and tumor of 11.4 and 40 ppm, the calculated advantage depth dose rate to the modified Snyder head phantom is 0.53RBE-Gymin(-1) at the advantage depth of 85 mm, giving an advantage ratio of 4.8. The dose patterns determined by the NCTPlan treatment planning system using the new THOR beam for a patient treated in the Harvard-MIT clinical trial were compared with results of the MITR-II M67 beam. The present study confirms the suitability of the new THOR beam for possible BNCT clinical trials.     

The refinement of dose assessment of the THOR BNCT beam

A refined dose assessment method has been used now in the THOR BNCT facility, which takes into account more delicate corrections, carefully handled calibration factors, and the spectrum- and kerma-weighted k_t value. The refined method solved the previous problem of negative derived neutron dose in phantom at deeper positions. With the improved dose assessment, the calculated and measured gamma-ray dose rates match perfectly in a 15×15×15 cm³ PMMA phantom.     

Effective dose evaluation for BNCT treatment in the epithermal neutron beam at THOR

This paper aims to evaluate the effective dose as well as equivalent doses of several organs of an adult hermaphrodite mathematical phantom according to the definition of ICRP Publication 60 for BNCT treatments of brain tumors in the epithermal neutron beam at THOR. The MCNP5 Monte Carlo code was used for the calculation of the average absorbed dose of each organ. The effective doses for a typical brain tumor treatment with a tumor treatment dose of 20 Gy-eq were evaluated to be 0.59 and 0.35 Sv for the LLAT and TOP irradiation geometries, respectively. In addition to the stochastic effect, it was found that it is also likely to produce deterministic effects, such as cataracts and depression of haematopoiesis.     

Development and verification of THORplan—A BNCT treatment planning system for THOR

THORplan is a treatment planning system under continuous development and refinement at Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, for BNCT purpose. New features developed for homogeneous model calculation include material grouping model, and voxel data reconstruction model. Material grouping model is a two-step grouping method, tissue-volume-percent grouping method followed by atom-gram-density grouping method. The root mean square difference of neutron flux due to material grouping is <0.8%. In the voxel data reconstruction model, voxel neutron dose is calculated based on the material composition and dose of individual atom of each voxel, which is calculated by linear interpolation from the dose of individual atom of neighboring cells tallied in MCNP calculation. The detailed voxel model is used to benchmark the accuracy of the new features developed for the homogeneous model calculation. The maximum error of the neutron flux and dose of voxels using the homogeneous cell model is 5% and 7%, respectively. Big improvement of accuracy of voxel dose over the original dose calculation model based on F6 tally is observed at locations containing very heterogeneous compositions.     

Computational study of room scattering influence in the THOR BNCT treatment room

BNCT dosimetry has often employed heavy Monte Carlo calculations for the beam characterization and the dose determination. However, these calculations commonly ignored the scattering influence between the radiations and the room structure materials in order to facilitate the calculation speed. The aim of this article attempts to explore how the room scattering affects the physical quantities such as the capture reaction rate and the gamma-ray dose rate under in-phantom and free-air conditions in the THOR BNCT treatment room. The geometry and structure materials of the treatment room were simulated in detail. The capture reaction rates per atom, as well as the gamma-ray dose rate were calculated in various sizes of phantoms and in the free-air condition. Results of this study showed that the room scattering has significant influence on the physical quantities, whether in small phantoms or in the free-air condition. This paper may be of importance in explaining the discrepancies between measurements and calculations in the BNCT dosimetry using small phantoms, in addition to provide a useful consideration with a better understanding of how the room scattering influence acts in a BNCT facility.     

A preliminary study on using the radiochromic film for 2D beam profile QC/QA at the THOR BNCT facility

The GAFCHROMIC^® EBT2 dosimetry film has been studied as a rapid QC/QA tool for 2D dose profile mapping in the BNCT beam at THOR. The pixel values of the EBT2 film image were converted to the 2D dose profile using a dose calibration curve obtained by 6-MV X-ray. The reproducibility of the 2D dose profile measured using the EBT2 film in the PMMA phantom was preliminarily found to be acceptable with uncertainties within about ±2 to ±3.5%. It is found that the EBT2 measured dose profile consisted of both gamma-ray components and neutron contributions. Therefore, the dose profile measured using the EBT2 film is significantly different from the neutron flux profile measured using the indirect neutron radiography method. Further study of the influence of neutrons to the response of the EBT2 film is indispensible for the absolute dose profile determination in a BNCT beam.     

Enhanced blood boron concentration estimation for BPA-F mediated BNCT.

The blood boron concentration regulates directly the BNCT irradiation time in which the prescribed dose to the patient is delivered. Therefore a proper estimation of the blood boron concentration for the treatment field based on the measured blood samples before irradiation is required. The bi-exponential model fit using Levenberg-Marquardt method was implemented for this purpose to provide the blood boron concentration estimates directly to the treatment data flow during the BNCT procedure. The harmonic mean bi-exponential decay half-lives of the studied patient data (n=28) were 15+/-8 and 320+/-70 min for the faster and slower half-life. The model uncertainty (n=28) was reasonably low, 0.7+/-0.1 microg/g (about 5%). The implemented algorithm provides a robust method for temporal blood boron concentration estimation for BPA-F mediated BNCT. Utilization of the infusion data improves the reliability of the estimate. The overall data flow during the treatment fulfills the practical requirements concerning the BNCT procedure.     

Radiation shielding evaluation of the BNCT treatment room at THOR: a TORT-coupled MCNP Monte Carlo simulation study.

This study investigates the radiation shielding design of the treatment room for boron neutron capture therapy at Tsing Hua Open-pool Reactor using "TORT-coupled MCNP" method. With this method, the computational efficiency is improved significantly by two to three orders of magnitude compared to the analog Monte Carlo MCNP calculation. This makes the calculation feasible using a single CPU in less than 1 day. Further optimization of the photon weight windows leads to additional 50-75% improvement in the overall computational efficiency.     

Bonner sphere spectrometer for characterization of BNCT beam

The characterization of the epithermal beam is performed by different dosimetry techniques that give information on neutron flux as well as neutron and photon doses. One of the possible methods is based on the measurement of thermal neutrons in a moderation environment, which enables the evaluation of neutron flux in a group structure and also neutron dose. The advantage of such a spectrometer consists of the fact that 90% response intervals of the spheres continuously cover the epithermal part of the neutron energy range. The method has been applied to characterize the epithermal neutron beams at several research centers in USA, Finland, the Netherlands and Czech Republic. The comparison of the MIT FCB, HFR HB11, VTT FiR, and LVR-15 beam parameters is presented in this paper.     

Measurement of free beam neutron spectra at eight BNCT facilities worldwide.

Eight epithermal neutron beams, constructed for clinical or preclinical studies of NCT, have been dosimetrically characterized by in-air measurements with a set of activation foils for the determination of the neutron energy spectra in free beam. Measurements have been made on the already closed epithermal BNCT facility at the BMRR of the Brookhaven National Laboratory, on the HFR at JRC in Petten, The Netherlands, on the epithermal mode beam at KURRI, Japan, on the fission converter beam at MIT, USA, on the epithermal beam of the RA-6 facility in Bariloche, Argentina, on the epithermal beam at WSU, USA, on the mixed mode beam at JRR-4 at JAERI, Japan, as well as on the epithermal beam at FiR 1 at VTT, Espoo, Finland.     

硼中子俘获治疗(BNCT)设备中子束流质量控制检测项分析

目的通过对医院中子照射器(IHNI)的超热中子束流辐射特性参数和剂量学特性参数的检测, 为建立硼中子俘获治疗(BNCT)设备中子束流的质量控制检测方法提供参考。方法通过对比各项检测结果的不确定度与欧洲联合研究中心(EC-JRC)推荐的偏差值, 分析评估相应检测方法的可行性。结果超热中子注量率的不确定度为2.7%;热中子与超热中子注量率比值的不确定度为3.1%;快中子空气比释动能率与超热中子注量率比值的不确定度为9.3%;γ空气比释动能率与超热中子注量率比值的不确定度为8.7%;中子注量率空间分布的不确定度为2.7%;模体内热中子注量率的不确定度为1.8%;模体内中子和γ射线剂量率的不确定度分别为17.1%和4.0%。结论模体内中子剂量率测量结果不确定度高, 需要进一步研究该项检测方法来提高检测结果的准确度;其余检测项测量结果不确定度低, 检测结果准确度预期能满足欧洲联合研究中心的推荐允许偏差值, 检测方法可行。     

Resumption of JRR-4 and characteristics of neutron beam for BNCT

The clinical trials of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) have been conducted using Japan Research Reactor No. 4 (JRR-4) at Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). On December 28th, 2007, a crack of a graphite reflector in the reactor core was found on the weld of the aluminum cladding. For this reason, specifications of graphite reflectors were renewed; dimensions of the graphite were reduced and gaps of water were increased. All existing graphite reflectors of JRR-4 were replaced by new graphite reflectors. In February 2010 the resumption of JRR-4 was carried out with new graphite reflectors. We measured the characteristics of neutron beam at the JRR-4 Neutron Beam Facility. A cylindrical water phantom of 18.6 cm diameter and 24 cm depth was set in front of the beam port with 1 cm gap. TLDs and gold wires were inserted within the phantom when the phantom was irradiated. The results of the measured thermal neutron flux and the gamma dose in water were compared with that of MCNP calculation. The neutron energy spectrum of the calculation model with new reflector had little variation compared to that with old reflector, but intensities of the neutron flux and gamma dose with new reflector were rather smaller than those with old reflector. The calculated results showed the same tendency as that of the experimental results. Therefore, the clinical trials of BNCT in JRR-4 could be restarted.     

Quality assurance procedures for the neutron beam monitors at the FiR 1 BNCT facility.

In order to assure the stability of the beam, the reliability of the beam monitoring system and the quality of the patient dose delivered, several procedures are followed at the FiR 1 epithermal beam in Finland. Routine procedures include in-phantom activation measurements before each patient treatment and a long-term follow-up of the results. The sensitivity of the beam monitors to external objects in the beam and to variations in the control rod positions in the reactor has been checked and found insignificant. The linearity of the beam monitor channels has been checked with activation measurements. It was found that due to saturation effects a correction of 11% has to be applied when extrapolating results from experiments at low power to full power using the reference monitor channel. The correction is even larger for other channels with higher count rates.     

Treatment planning capability assessment of a beam shaping assembly for accelerator-based BNCT

Within the frame of an ongoing project to develop a folded Tandem-Electrostatic-Quadrupole accelerator facility for Accelerator-Based Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (AB-BNCT) a theoretical study was performed to assess the treatment planning capability of different configurations of an optimized beam shaping assembly for such a facility. In particular this study aims at evaluating treatment plans for a clinical case of Glioblastoma.     

Spatial characterization of BNCT beams.

The space distribution of the epithermal neutron flux was determined for the epithermal neutron beams of several NCT facilities in USA (FCB at MIT), Europe (HFR at JRC, Petten; FiR at VTT, Espoo; LVR-15 at NRI, Rez) and Japan (JRR-4 at JAERI, Tokai). Using p-n diodes with (6)Li radiator and the set of Bonner sphere spectrometer (BSS) the beams were quantified in-air. Axial beam profiles along the beam axes and the radial distributions at two distances from the beam aperture were measured. Except for the well-collimated HFR beam, the spatial characteristics of the other studied beams were found generally similar, which results from their similar designs.     

Spatial and spectral characteristics of a compact system neutron beam designed for BNCT facility

The development of suitable neutron sources and neutron beam is critical to the success of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT). In this work a compact system designed for BNCT is presented. The system consists of ²⁵²Cf fission neutron source and a moderator/reflector/filter/shield assembly. The moderator/reflector/filter arrangement has been optimized to maximize the epithermal neutron component which is useful for BNCT treatment of deep seated tumors with the suitably low level of beam contamination. The MCMP5 code has been used to calculate the different components of neutrons, secondary gamma rays originating from ²⁵²Cf source and the primary gamma rays emitted directly by this source at the exit face of the compact system. The fluence rate distributions of such particles were also computed along the central axis of a human head phantom.     

Design and construction of a thermal neutron beam for BNCT at Tehran Research Reactor

An irradiation facility has been designed and constructed at Tehran Research Reactor (TRR) for the treatment of shallow tumors using Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT). TRR has a thermal column which is about 3 m in length with a wide square cross section of 1.2×1.2 m². This facility is filled with removable graphite blocks. The aim of this work is to perform the necessary modifications in the thermal column structure to meet thermal BNCT beam criteria recommended by International Atomic Energy Agency. The main modifications consist of rearranging graphite blocks and reducing the gamma dose rate at the beam exit. Activation foils and TLD700 dosimeter have been used to measure in-air characteristics of the neutron beam. According to the measurements, a thermal flux is 5.6×10⁸ (n cm⁻² s⁻¹), a cadmium ratio is 186 for gold foils and a gamma dose rate is 0.57 Gy h⁻¹.