A comparison between a TESQ accelerator and a reactor as a neutron sources for BNCT

In this work, the performance of an accelerator-based neutron source design has been compared with that of a modern fluoride-filtered reactor-based epithermal beam having near-optimal quality for treatment of deep seated tumors in relation to its applicability for BNCT. The accelerator is a Tandem-Electrostatic-Quadrupole (TESQ) accelerator which is a design under development at the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) in Buenos Aires, Argentina based on the ⁷Li(p,n)⁷Be reaction, relatively close to its energy threshold. The reactor is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reactor upgraded with a Fission Converter Beam (MIT-FCB) and improved with an 8 mm thick ⁶Li filter. The comparison has been done by means of data reported on the MIT-FCB + ⁶Li filter performance and MCNP simulations on our TESQ design considering the neutron fluxes provided by the two sources and the doses delivered in a human phantom by both devices. The results show a deeper advantage depth (AD) for the TESQ which turns out to be a promising alternative to a reactor-based BNCT treatment.     

Characteristics comparison between a cyclotron-based neutron source and KUR-HWNIF for boron neutron capture therapy

At Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute (KURRI), 275 clinical trials of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) have been performed as of March 2006, and the effectiveness of BNCT has been revealed. In order to further develop BNCT, it is desirable to supply accelerator-based epithermal-neutron sources that can be installed near the hospital. We proposed the method of filtering and moderating fast neutrons, which are emitted from the reaction between a beryllium target and 30-MeV protons accelerated by a cyclotron accelerator, using an optimum moderator system composed of iron, lead, aluminum and calcium fluoride. At present, an epithermal-neutron source is under construction from June 2008. This system consists of a cyclotron accelerator, beam transport system, neutron-yielding target, filter, moderator and irradiation bed.In this article, an overview of this system and the properties of the treatment neutron beam optimized by the MCNPX Monte Carlo neutron transport code are presented. The distribution of biological effect weighted dose in a head phantom compared with that of Kyoto University Research Reactor (KUR) is shown. It is confirmed that for the accelerator, the biological effect weighted dose for a deeply situated tumor in the phantom is 18% larger than that for KUR, when the limit dose of the normal brain is 10 Gy-eq. The therapeutic time of the cyclotron-based neutron sources are nearly one-quarter of that of KUR. The cyclotron-based epithermal-neutron source is a promising alternative to reactor-based neutron sources for treatments by BNCT.     

Development of treatment planning for scanning irradiation at HIMAC

In order to utilize an intensity-controlled raster scan method at the new treatment facility in HIMAC, we have developed, as a first step, a research version of a treatment planning tool. In this tool, treatment plans are produced according to the following steps: (a) import a planned target volume (PTV) delineated on a CT data set, (b) determine the primary treatment parameters, (c) convert the PTV in the CT system to the one in the water equivalent system, (d) choose beam positions within the PTV, (e) optimize the scan trajectory, (f) determine the particle numbers for each pencil beam and (g) produce the beam steering file. As an example, a treatment plan was produced for the data of a patient treated at HIMAC in this paper. The reliability of the tool was confirmed with irradiation experiments according to the obtained beam steering file.     

Investigation of dose characteristics in three-dimensional MAGAT-type polymer gel dosimetry with MSE MR imaging

A new type of normoxic polymer gel dosimeter, named MAGAT responses well to absorbed dose even when manufacturing in the presence of normal levels of oxygen. The aim of this study was to evaluate dose response, diffusion effect and cumulated dose response under multiple fractional irradiations of the MAGAT gel dosimeter using Multiple Spin-Echo (MSE) Magnetic Resonance (MR) sequence. Dose response was performed by irradiating MAGAT-gel-filled testing vials with a 6 MV linear accelerator and a linear relationship was present with doses from 0 to 6 Gy, but gradually, a bi-exponential function result was obtained with given doses up to 20 Gy. No significant difference in dose response was present between single and cumulated doses (p > 0.05). For study of diffusion effect, edge sharpness of the R2 map imaging between two split doses was smaller than 1 cm of dose profile penumbra between 20% and 80%. In conclusion, the MAGAT polymer gel dosimeter with MSE MR imaging is a promising method for dose verification in clinical radiation therapy practice.     

Design study of a channel in the moderator on improving C and O measurement in coal

By introducing a channel in the moderator of a coal analysis setup using neutron-induced gamma technique, more fast neutrons can reach the coal. Then the characteristic gamma-rays of C and O are increased due to neutron inelastic scattering (NIS) reaction, and measurement of the two elements is sufficiently improved. Monte-Carlo simulations have been carried out in this work for the setup with different prism channels. These prism channels have different positions and sizes, but their bottom surfaces are all nearby the neutron source. The results show that, it could obtain the optimum improvement of C and O measurement, by selecting a proper position and size for the prism channel.     

The ionoluminescence apparatus at the LABEC external microbeam facility

In this paper, we describe the main features of the ionoluminescence (IL) apparatus recently installed at the external scanning microbeam facility of the 3 MV Tandetron accelerator of the INFN LABEC Laboratory in Firenze. The peculiarity of this IL set-up resides in the fact that the light produced by the ion irradiation of the specimen is collected by a bifurcated optical fiber, so that photons are shunted both to a CCD spectrometer, working in the 200-900 nm wavelength range, and to a photomultiplier (PMT). The accurate focusing of the optical system allows high photon collection efficiency and this results in rapid acquisition of luminescence spectra with low ion currents on luminescent materials; simultaneously, luminescence maps with a spatial resolution of 10 μm can be acquired through the synchronization of PMT photon detection with the position of the scanning focused ion beam. An optical filter with a narrow passband facing the photomultiplier allows chromatic selectivity of the luminescence centres.The IL apparatus is synergistically integrated into the existing set-up for ion beam analyses (IBA). The upgraded system permits simultaneous IL and PIXE/PIGE/BS measurements. With our integrated system, we have been studying raw lapis lazuli samples of different known origins and precious lapis lazuli artworks of the Collezione Medicea of Museum of Natural History, University of Firenze, aiming at characterising their composition and provenance.     

External micro-PIXE analysis of fluid inclusions: Test of the LABEC facility on samples of quartz veins from Apuan Alps (Italy)

Fluid inclusions are small portions, usually smaller than 100 μm, of fluid trapped within minerals during or after growth. Their characteristics provide therefore fundamental information on nature and evolution of fluids present in the past in different geological environments. At the LABEC laboratory in Firenze, high-salinity fluid inclusions in quartz crystals, coming from the Apuan Alps metamorphic complex, were analysed at the external scanning microbeam. Results, although still preliminary, have already provided us with hints on fluid-rock interaction processes during the metamorphism of the Apuan Alps.     

A beam optics study of the biomedical beam line at a proton therapy facility

A biomedical beam line has been designed for the experimental area of a proton therapy facility to deliver mm to sub-mm size beams in the energy range of 20-50 MeV using the TRANSPORT/TURTLE beam optics codes and a newly-written program. The proton therapy facility is equipped with a 230 MeV fixed-energy cyclotron and an energy selection system based on a degrader and slits, so that beam currents available for therapy decrease at lower energies in the therapeutic beam energy range of 70-230 MeV. The new beam line system is composed of an energy-degrader, two slits, and three quadrupole magnets. The minimum beam sizes achievable at the focal point are estimated for the two energies of 50 and 20 MeV. The focused FWHM beam size is approximately 0.3 mm with an expected beam current of 20 pA when the beam energy is reduced to 50 MeV from 100 MeV, and roughly 0.8 mm with a current of 10 pA for a 20 MeV beam.     

CR-39 detector based thermal neutron flux measurements, in the photo neutron project

PhoNeS (photo neutron source) is a project aimed at the production and moderation of neutrons by exploiting high energy linear accelerators, currently used in radiotherapy. A feasibility study has been carried out with the scope in mind to use the high energy photon beams from these accelerators for the production of neutrons suitable for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). Within these investigations, it was necessary to carry out preliminary measurements of the thermal neutron component of neutron spectra, produced by the photo-conversion of X-ray radiotherapy beams supplied by three LinAcs: 15 MV, 18 MV and 23 MV. To this end, a simple passive thermal neutron detector has been used which consists of a CR-39 track detector facing a new type of boron-loaded radiator. Once calibrated, this passive detector has been used for the measurement of both the thermal neutron component and the cadmium ratio of different neutron spectra. In addition, bubble detectors with a response highly sensitive to thermal neutrons have also been used. Both thermal neutron detectors are simple to use, very compact and totally insensitive to low-ionizing radiation such as electrons and X-rays. The resultant thermal neutron flux was above 10⁶ n/cm²s and the cadmium ratio was no greater than 15 for the first attempt of photo-conversion of X-ray radiotherapy beams.     

The total cross section and resonance parameters for the 0.178 eV resonance of Cd

It has been suggested that the capture and scattering cross sections of natural cadmium are not well described by the resonance parameters that are given in the evaluated data files. In particular, doubts on the parameters of the first resonance of ¹¹³Cd at 0.178 eV have been raised. This resonance is of high importance in the interpretation in many integral experiments, such as neutron activation analysis, in which cadmium foils are used to shield from thermal neutrons. A new set of experiments has been designed and performed at the neutron time-of-flight facility GELINA, to determine the total cross section and to extract a set of resonance parameters. The covariance information of the experimental data is propagated and the correlation between the resonance parameters is derived. The obtained parameters are then compared to the data available in the literature. Finally a set of criticality experiments from the international handbook of evaluated critical safety benchmark experiments is used to quantify the influence of the change in the resonance parameters.     

Effect of swift heavy ion irradiation on hydrothermally synthesized hydroxyapatite ceramics

The effect of swift heavy ion irradiation on hydroxyapatite (HAp) ceramic - a bone mineral was investigated. The irradiation experiment was conducted using oxygen ions at energy of 100 MeV with three different fluences of 10¹², 10¹³, 10¹⁴ ions/cm². The irradiated samples were characterized by glancing angle X-ray diffraction (GXRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX). GXRD confirmed incomplete amorphisation of HAp with increase in fluence. There was considerable reduction in particle size on irradiation leading to nanosized HAp (upto 53 nm). PL studies showed emission in the visible wavelength region. The irradiated samples exhibited better bioactivity than the pristine HAp.     

Status of the compact 1 MV AMS facility at the Centro Nacional de Aceleradores (Spain)

Since February 2006, the new 1 MV multielement compact AMS facility SARA (Spanish Accelerator for Radionuclides Analyses) at the Centro Nacional de Aceleradores (CNA) in Sevilla (Spain) is fully operative. During the first one and a half year of operation, the viability of the system for the measurement of ¹⁰Be, ¹⁴C, ¹²⁹I and plutonium isotopes, ²³⁹Pu and ²⁴⁰Pu, has been evaluated. First results have demonstrated that, in terms of precision and detection limits, the performance of the device compares to other compact AMS facilities, although some progress can still be done in order to optimize its capacities. At this moment, background levels are in the order of 10⁻¹⁴ for ¹⁰Be/⁹Be, 10⁻¹³ for ¹²⁹I/¹²⁷I, 10⁻¹⁵ for ¹⁴C/¹²C (processed and unprocessed blank) and about 10⁶ atoms for plutonium isotopes: ²³⁹Pu, ²⁴⁰Pu and ²⁴²Pu. In this work, the current status of the AMS measurements at CNA for the above mentioned radionuclides is described.     

Preliminary results of proton beam characterization for a facility of broad beam in vitro cell irradiation

The interaction of charged particles with living matter needs to be well understood for medical applications. Particularly, it is useful to study how ion beams interact with tissues in terms of damage, dose released and dose rate.One way to evaluate the biological effects induced by an ion beam is by the irradiation of cultured cells at a particle accelerator, where cells can be exposed to different ions at different energies and flux.In this paper, we report the first results concerning the characterization of a broad proton beam obtained with our 2 MV tandem accelerator. For broad beam in vitro cell irradiation, the beam has to be stable over time, uniform over a ∼0.5 cm² surface, and a dose rate ranging from 0.1 to 10 Gy/min must be achievable. Results concerning the level of achievement of these requirements are presented in this paper for a 1 MeV proton beam.     

Dating of aragonite fossil shell by ESR for paramagnetic species assignment of Mae Moh basin

Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy technique has been employed to date the aragonite freshwater fossil shells in bottom sediments collected from Mae Moh basin of northern Thailand in the southwest margin of the coal pit. The samples were given an accumulated dose (AD) of 1100.46 ± 52.72 Gy by the additive irradiation method. The dose response of the ESR signals were found to be suitable for an age determination using a signal at g = 2.0016 corresponding to . The ESR signal growth curve on additional γ irradiation has been best fitted by a linear saturation function. Based on this model, the accumulated dose value for dating is obtained. The ESR age of the aragonite fossil shells was found to be about 13.02 ± 1.03 Ma. The results show that the ESR age within the Middle Miocene, Mae Moh Group of the geological time scale, which agreed with the stratigraphic level of the fauna.     

Experimental study of swelling of irradiated solid methane during annealing

Solid methane is still widely in use at pulsed neutron sources due to its excellent neutronic performance (IPNS, KENS, Second Target Station at ISIS), notwithstanding poor radiation properties. One of the specific problems is radiolytic hydrogen gas pressure on the walls of a methane chamber during annealing of methane. In this paper results of an experimental study of this phenomenon under fast neutron irradiation with the help of a specially made low temperature irradiation rig at the IBR-2 pulsed reactor are presented. The peak pressure on the wall of the experimental capsule during heating of a sample irradiated at 23-35 K appears to have a maximum of 2.7 MPa at an absorbed dose 20 MGy and then falls down with higher doses. The pressure always reached its peak value at the temperature range 72-79 K. Generally, three phases of methane swelling during heating can be distinguished, each characterized by a proper rate and intensity.     

Development of a fraction collector for coupling gas chromatography with an AMS facility

It has been shown that microscale ¹⁴C measurements are possible by using a gas handling system and a gas ion source [T. Uhl, W. Kretschmer, W. Luppold, A. Scharf, AMS measurements from microgram to milligram, Nucl. Instr. and Meth. (2005) 474 (240th ed.), T. Uhl, W. Luppold, A. Rottenbach, A. Scharf, K. Kritzler, W. Kretschmer, Development of an automatic gas handling system for microscale AMS (¹⁴C) measurements, Nucl. Instr. and Meth. (2007) 303 (259th ed.)]. In Erlangen a gas handling system was especially developed for environmental and biomedical investigations. For the separation of the compound of interest a standard gas chromatograph (GC) is used. To minimize the sample contamination and sample loss we have designed a fraction collector that connects a GC and an elemental analyzer (EA) directly. The selected compound is combusted in the EA and the resulting CO₂ is then transferred into the gas handling system for AMS measurements. From the beginning of GC preparation up to the AMS measurement the sample is in a closed line. All operations are fully automated, so no manual operations are necessary. This guarantees high cleanness and maximum sample yield. Preliminary measurements are done using modern and old ethyl alcohol (from fermentation and of petrochemical origin, respectively). The results are consistent with their expected values although cross contamination and background signal increased as the sample mass was decreased.     

A homage to ECAART-9 and Florence

A brief summary of the ECAART-9 conference is presented, with special reference to the city of Florence and its unique history.     

Characterization and applications of a new tabletop confocal micro X-ray fluorescence setup

A tabletop confocal three-dimensional micro X-ray fluorescence (3D micro-XRF) setup was designed, based on polycapillary X-ray optics and a micro-focus X-ray source. This confocal setup consists of a polycapillary full lens to focus the incident beam and a polycapillary half lens to collect the X-ray fluorescence. The confocal volume was proved to be ellipsoidal. The full-width at half maximum (FWHM) of the confocal volume in three directions were measured with a “knife edge” scan method to obtain the spatial resolution of the confocal setup. The structure of multilayer samples was studied using the depth scan technique.     

Configuration interaction calculations of annihilation rates for positronic complexes of alkali hydrides

Ab initio multireference single- and double-excitation configuration interaction (MRD-CI) wave functions have been employed to compute the annihilation rates (AR) of positronic molecular complexes of four alkali hydrides. The first step in these calculations is the evaluation of integrals of the two-particle Dirac delta function δ₊₋ over pairs of electronic and positronic basis functions. MRD-CI wave functions calculated with the same basis are then employed to obtain expectation values of the δ₊₋ operator (Z_eff), which in turn are proportional to the corresponding annihilation rates (AR) of the associated many-particle states. The importance of removing near-linear dependencies in the basis sets employed is stressed as well as the advisability of placing diffuse (small-exponent) functions in the basis only at the most electronegative center of the molecule. A tendency to underestimate the Z_eff values is noted because of the impracticality of including sufficiently high-l basis functions in the basis for general molecular systems. However, comparison with the relatively accurate values for the four-electron e⁺LiH complex obtained by Quantum Monte-Carlo (QMC) and other methods indicates that the fractional error is nearly constant over a large range of internuclear distance, consistent with the expectation that missing correlation effects in the MRD-CI treatment are predominantly atomic in nature. A scaling procedure based on the asymptotic δ₊₋ value, which is the same for all four alkali hydrides, is then shown to produce good agreement with the QMC AR data for e⁺LiH. The same procedure has been applied to the δ₊₋ values for the positronic complexes of the heavier alkali hydrides for which no other theoretical results are available. Trends in the variation of the AR results with bond distance are discussed.