Patent Application
20150105604
The present application is based on, and claims priority from, Taiwan Application Serial Number 102137074, filed on Oct. 15, 2013, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety
The technical field relates to a neutron beam source, and in particular to a filter for producing a neutron beam.
In the principle of the boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), a boron-containing drug is preferentially accumulated in tumor cells through the blood circulation, and the tumor tissue is irradiated by a neutron beam. As such, the boron absorbs neutron to produce high LET alpha particle and 7Li ion, which may locally destroy the tumor cells without damaging the normal tissues.
BNCT only causes extremely small damage to the patient, and the surgical operation and anesthetic can be omitted. If thermal neutrons are used in BNCT for a brain tumor, the skull of the patient needs to be opened up. If epithermal neutrons are used in BNCT for the brain tumor, the step of opening the skull can be omitted.
Most of the neutron beam sources in BNCT are from research reactors. In general, research reactors cannot be located in hospitals, and therefore the doctors and patients must move to the location of research reactors. On the other hand, accelerator-based neutron beam sources can be built in hospitals. It not only costs less, but also saves time for the doctors and the patients.
Accordingly, an accelerator-based neutron beam source for BNCT is called for.
One embodiment of the disclosure provides a filter, comprising: a first layer composed of iron; a second layer composed of 1 part by volume of lithium fluoride, 20 to 50 parts by volume of aluminum, and 50 to 80 parts by volume of aluminum fluoride; and a third layer composed of 1 part by weight of lithium fluoride and 99 to 100 parts by weight of magnesium fluoride, wherein the second layer is disposed between the first layer and the third layer.
One embodiment of the disclosure provides a neutron beam source, comprising: an accelerator; a beryllium target; and the described filter, wherein the beryllium target is disposed between the accelerator and the filter, and the first layer of the filter is disposed between the beryllium target and the third layer.
A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The disclosure can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing.
As shown in
In one embodiment, the target 13 is composed of beryllium with a thickness of 0.55 cm to 0.58 cm. An overly thick target 13 cannot easily dissipate heat. An overly thin target 13 decreases the neutron yield.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, the filter 15 has a total thickness of 67.5 cm to 70 cm, and a cross-section area of 0.5 m2 to 1.13 m2 (e.g. a circle with a radius of 40 cm to 60 cm). A filter 15 with an overly thin total thickness cannot efficiently reduce the fast neutron dose component. A filter 15 with an overly thick total thickness cannot produce sufficient epithermal neutron flux. A filter with an overly large cross-section area will increase the filter weight and cost, and reduce the average epithermal neutron flux without improving the neutron beam quality. A filter 15 (having the same thickness as a filter with a proper cross-section area) with an overly small cross-section area cannot efficiently reduce the fast neutron dose component.
As shown in
In one embodiment, a lead wall 14 with a thickness of greater than 15 cm can be disposed outside the filter 15 to further increase the final epithermal neutron flux. An overly thick lead wall 14 will be over weighted. The filter 15 can be surrounded by a shield 20 to avoid radiation penetrating out of the filter 15. In one embodiment, the shield 20 can be concrete.
In one embodiment, the accelerator 11 produces a proton beam of 30 MeV/1 mA, and the neutron beam source 10 correspondingly produces a neutron beam having an epithermal neutron flux of 1.7×109 n cm−2s−1 to 1.9×109 n cm−2s−1, and a fast neutron dose component of 2.9×10−11 cGy cm2 to 3.5×10−11 cGy cm2 per epithermal neutron.
In one embodiment, a collimator element 16 can be added as shown in
If the proton energy produced by the accelerator changes, the thickness ranges of the three layers in the filter for producing ideal epithermal neutrons will change slightly.
When the energy of the protons produced by the accelerator increases to 31 MeV/1 mA, the filter for producing ideal epithermal neutrons has a tri-layered structure as follows: a first layer with a thickness of 27.5 cm to 40 cm, a second layer with a thickness of 10 cm to 35 cm, and a third layer with a thickness of 7.5 cm to 20 cm. In one embodiment, the neutron beam source 10 produces a neutron beam having an epithermal neutron flux of 1.7×109 n cm−2s−1 to 1.9×109 n cm−2s−1, and a fast neutron dose component of 2.9×10−11 cGy cm2 to 3.7×10−11 cGy cm2 per epithermal neutron.
When the energy of protons produced by the accelerator decreases to 29 MeV/1 mA, the filter for producing ideal epithermal neutrons has a tri-layered structure as below: a first layer with a thickness of 25 cm to 37.5 cm, a second layer with a thickness of 12.5 cm to 37.5 cm, and a third layer with a thickness of 5 cm to 17.5 cm. In one embodiment, the neutron beam source 10 produces a neutron beam having an epithermal neutron flux of 1.7×109 n cm−2s−1 to 1.9×109 n cm−2s−1, and a fast neutron dose component of 2.9×10−11 cGy cm2 to 3.5×10−11 cGy cm2 per epithermal neutron.
Below, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings for easy understanding. The inventive concept may be embodied in various forms without being limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Descriptions of well-known parts are omitted for clarity, and like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.
In the experiments described below, the simulation calculation software used MCNPX, developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the cross-section library was ENDF/B-7.
In Examples 1 to 4, the accelerator produced protons of 30 MeV/1 mA, and the target was beryllium with a thickness of 0.55 cm. The first layer of the filter was composed of iron. The second layer of the filter was composed of 1 part by weight of lithium fluoride, 30 parts by weight of aluminum, and 69 parts by weight of aluminum fluoride (equal to 1 part by volume of lithium fluoride, 31 parts by volume of aluminum, and 68 parts by volume of aluminum fluoride). The third layer of the filter was composed of 1 part by weight of lithium fluoride and 99 parts by weight of magnesium fluoride.
The first layer, the second layer, and the third layer, each with a different thickness, were selected to construct filters having a circular cross-section with a radius of 50 cm. The epithermal neutron flux, the fast neutron dose rate, and the fast neutron dose per epithermal neutron of the neutron beams produced by neutron beam sources containing the filters are tabulated in Table 1.
As shown in Table 1, the atomic mass of the aluminum in the second layer was large, therefore, it could not effectively slow down the fast neutrons. As such, the second layer should be thickened to reduce the fast neutron dose rate. But the thicker second layer also reduced the epithermal neutron flux. The atomic mass of the magnesium in the third layer was smaller, therefore, it could slow down the fast neutrons effectively. However, it also reduced the epithermal neutron flux. When the total thickness of the first layer and the second layer (e.g. Example 1-1) was the same as the total thickness of the first layer and the third layer (e.g. Example 1-4), the epithermal neutron flux in Example 1-4 was less than the epithermal neutron flux in Example 1-1. As shown in the comparison between Examples 1-3 and 1-4, the second layer in the filter composed of the first layer and the second layer should be 7.5 cm thicker than the third layer in the filter composed of the first layer and the third layer in order to achieve approximately the same fast neutron dose rate. By comparing Examples 1-3, 1-4, and 1-5, it is shown that for achieving an approximately the same and reasonably low value of fast neutron dose per epithermal neutron, the tri-layered filter in Example 1-5 not only produced a higher epithermal neutron flux, but also had a total thickness being 5 cm thinner than the bi-layered filter in Example 1-3.
Example 2-1 was similar to Example 1-5, and the difference in Example 2-1 was that the positions of the second layer and the third layer were exchanged. Although the epithermal neutron flux in Example 2-1 was higher than that in Example 1-5, the fast neutron dose in Example 2-1 was also higher than that in Example 1-5. For reducing the fast neutron dose rate in Example 2-1, the thickness of the third layer was increased in Example 2-2. Although the fast neutron dose rate in Example 2-2 is similar to that in Example 1-5, the epithermal neutron flux in Example 2-2 is also reduced. Accordingly, the position arrangement of the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer in Example 1-5 is better than the position arrangement of the first layer, the third layer, and the second layer in Examples 2-1 and 2-2.
The first layer of fixed thickness (30 cm) was followed by different thickness of second layer and third layer to construct a circular filter with a radius of 50 cm. The filter was further added with a collimator element disclosed in Y-W H. Liu, T. T. Huang, S. H. Jiang, H. M. Liu, (2004) “Renovation of Epithermal Neutron Beam for BNCT at THOR,” Appl. Radiat. Isot. 61, 1039-1043. The epithermal neutron flux, the fast neutron dose rate, and the fast neutron dose per epithermal neutron of the neutron beams produced by neutron beam sources containing the filters and the collimator element are tabulated in Table 3.
By comparing the results in Table 3 with Table 1 and Table 2, it is seen that the collimator element can maintain the epithermal neutron flux intensity and reduce the fast neutron dose rate to a value close to that suggested by IAEA.
Different thicknesses of the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer were selected to construct filters having a circular cross-section with a radius of 50 cm. No collimator element was adopted in this Example. The epithermal neutron flux, the fast neutron dose rate, and the fast neutron dose per epithermal neutron of the neutron beams produced by neutron beam sources containing the filters are tabulated in Table 4.
As shown in Table 4, the neutron beam source with the filter (having the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer with proper thicknesses) provided sufficient epithermal neutron flux and low fast neutron dose rate.
For accelerator producing protons of 31 MeV/1 mA, different thicknesses of the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer were selected to construct filters having a circular cross-section with a radius of 50 cm. No collimator element was adopted in this Example. The epithermal neutron flux, the fast neutron dose rate, and the fast neutron dose per epithermal neutron of the neutron beams produced by neutron beam sources containing the filters are tabulated in Table 5.
For accelerator producing protons of 29 MeV, 1 mA, different thicknesses of the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer were selected to construct filters having a circular cross-section with a radius of 50 cm. No collimator element was adopted in this Example. The epithermal neutron flux, the fast neutron dose rate, and the fast neutron dose per epithermal neutron of the neutron beams produced by neutron beam sources containing the filters are tabulated in Table 6.
For accelerator producing protons of 30 MeV/1 mA, different thicknesses of the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer were selected to construct filters having a circular cross-section with a radius of 50 cm. The collimator element in Example 3 was adopted in this Example. The epithermal neutron flux, the fast neutron dose rate, and the fast neutron dose per epithermal neutron of the neutron beams produced by neutron beam sources containing the filters after passing through the collimator are tabulated in Table 7.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the disclosed methods and materials. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 102137074 | Oct 2013 | TW | national |
