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Kamisaki F, Inoue T, Tomiyoshi K, Matsuki M, Aoki K, Kusaka S, Tamaki S, Sato F, Murata I. Accurate gamma-ray dose measurement up to 10 MeV by glass dosimeter with a sensitivity control filter for BNCT. Appl Radiat Isot 2024; 209:111299. [PMID: 38613949 DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2022] [Revised: 01/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/15/2024]
Abstract
Glass dosimeters are very useful and convenient detection elements in radiation dosimetry. In this study, this glass dosimeter was applied to a BNCT treatment field. Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is a next-generation radiation therapy that can selectively kill only cancer cells. In the BNCT treatment field, both neutrons and secondary gamma-rays are generated. In other words, it is a mixed radiation field of neutrons and gamma-rays. We thus proposed a novel method to measure only gamma-ray dose in the mixed field using two RPLGD (Radiophoto-luminescence Glass Dosimeter) and two sensitivity control filters in order to control the dose response of the filtered RPLGD to be proportional to the air kerma coefficients, even if the gamma-ray energy spectrum is unknown. As the filter material iron was selected, and it was finally confirmed that reproduction of the air kerma coefficients was excellent within an error of 5.3% in the entire energy range up to 10 MeV. In order to validate this method, irradiation experiments were carried out using standard gamma-ray sources. As the result, the measured doses were in acceptably good agreement with the theoretical calculation results by PHITS. In the irradiation experiment with a volume source in a nuclear fuel storage room, the measured dose rates showed larger compared with survey meter values. In conclusion, the results of the standard sources showed the feasibility of this method, however for the volume source the dependence of the gamma-ray incident angle on the dosimeter was found to be not neglected. In the next step, it will be necessary to design a thinner filter in order to suppress the effect of the incident angle.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Kamisaki
- Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Yamada-oka 2-1, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - T Inoue
- Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Yamada-oka 2-1, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - K Tomiyoshi
- Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Yamada-oka 2-1, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - M Matsuki
- Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Yamada-oka 2-1, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - K Aoki
- Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Yamada-oka 2-1, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - S Kusaka
- Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Yamada-oka 2-1, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - S Tamaki
- Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Yamada-oka 2-1, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - F Sato
- Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Yamada-oka 2-1, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - I Murata
- Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Yamada-oka 2-1, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan.
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Maeda H, Nohtomi A, Hu N, Kakino R, Akita K, Ono K. Feasibility study of optical imaging of the boron-dose distribution by a liquid scintillator in a clinical boron neutron capture therapy field. Med Phys 2024; 51:509-521. [PMID: 37672219 DOI: 10.1002/mp.16727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Revised: 08/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Evaluation of the boron dose is essential for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). Nevertheless, a direct evaluation method for the boron-dose distribution has not yet been established in the clinical BNCT field. To date, even in quality assurance (QA) measurements, the boron dose has been indirectly evaluated from the thermal neutron flux measured using the activation method with gold foil or wire and an assumed boron concentration in the QA procedure. Recently, we successfully conducted optical imaging of the boron-dose distribution using a cooled charge-coupled device (CCD) camera and a boron-added liquid scintillator at the E-3 port facility of the Kyoto University Research Reactor (KUR), which supplies an almost pure thermal neutron beam with very low gamma-ray contamination. However, in a clinical accelerator-based BNCT facility, there is a concern that the boron-dose distribution may not be accurately extracted because the unwanted luminescence intensity, which is irrelevant to the boron dose is expected to increase owing to the contamination of fast neutrons and gamma rays. PURPOSE The purpose of this research was to study the validity of a newly proposed method using a boron-added liquid scintillator and a cooled CCD camera to directly observe the boron-dose distribution in a clinical accelerator-based BNCT field. METHOD A liquid scintillator phantom with 10 B was prepared by filling a small quartz glass container with a commercial liquid scintillator and boron-containing material (trimethyl borate); its natural boron concentration was 1 wt%. Luminescence images of the boron-neutron capture reaction were obtained in a water tank at several different depths using a CCD camera. The contribution of background luminescence, mainly due to gamma rays, was removed by subtracting the luminescence images obtained using another sole liquid scintillator phantom (natural boron concentration of 0 wt%) at each corresponding depth, and a depth profile of the boron dose with several discrete points was obtained. The obtained depth profile was compared with that of calculated boron dose, and those of thermal neutron flux which were experimentally measured or calculated using a Monte Carlo code. RESULTS The depth profile evaluated from the subtracted images indicated reasonable agreement with the calculated boron-dose profile and thermal neutron flux profiles, except for the shallow region. This discrepancy is thought to be due to the contribution of light reflected from the tank wall. The simulation results also demonstrated that the thermal neutron flux would be severely perturbed by the 10 B-containing phantom if a relatively larger container was used to evaluate a wide range of boron-dose distributions in a single shot. This indicates a trade-off between the luminescence intensity of the 10 B-added phantom and its perturbation effect on the thermal neutron flux. CONCLUSIONS Although a partial discrepancy was observed, the validity of the newly proposed boron-dose evaluation method using liquid-scintillator phantoms with and without 10 B was experimentally confirmed in the neutron field of an accelerator-based clinical BNCT facility. However, this study has some limitations, including the trade-off problem stated above. Therefore, further studies are required to address these limitations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hideya Maeda
- Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Akihiro Nohtomi
- Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Naonori Hu
- Kansai BNCT Medical Center, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Takatsuki-shi, Osaka, Japan
- Particle Radiation Oncology Research Center, Industrial Equipment Division, Kyoto University, Sennan-gun, Osaka, Japan
| | - Ryo Kakino
- Kansai BNCT Medical Center, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Takatsuki-shi, Osaka, Japan
| | - Kazuhiko Akita
- Kansai BNCT Medical Center, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Takatsuki-shi, Osaka, Japan
| | - Koji Ono
- Kansai BNCT Medical Center, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Takatsuki-shi, Osaka, Japan
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Caracciolo A, Ferri T, Borghi G, Carminati M, Protti N, Altieri S, Fiorini C. A compact scintillator-based detector with collimator and shielding for dose monitoring in boron neutron capture therapy. Phys Imaging Radiat Oncol 2024; 29:100556. [PMID: 38405430 PMCID: PMC10891326 DOI: 10.1016/j.phro.2024.100556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Boron neutron capture therapy exploits 10B(n,α )7Li reactions for targeted tumor destruction. In this work, we aimed at developing a dose monitoring system based on the detection of 478 keV gamma rays emitted by the reactions, which is very challenging due to the severe background present. We investigated a compact gamma-ray detector with a pinhole collimator and shielding housing. Experimental nuclear reactor measurements involved varying boron concentrations and artificial shifts of the sources. The system successfully resolved the 478 keV photopeak and detected 1 cm lateral displacements, confirming its suitability for precise boron dose monitoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anita Caracciolo
- Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione and Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Milano 20133, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Milano, Milano 20133, Italy
| | - Tommaso Ferri
- Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione and Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Milano 20133, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Milano, Milano 20133, Italy
| | - Giacomo Borghi
- Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione and Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Milano 20133, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Milano, Milano 20133, Italy
| | - Marco Carminati
- Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione and Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Milano 20133, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Milano, Milano 20133, Italy
| | - Nicoletta Protti
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Pavia, Pavia 27100, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Pavia, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Saverio Altieri
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Pavia, Pavia 27100, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Pavia, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Carlo Fiorini
- Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione and Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Milano 20133, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Milano, Milano 20133, Italy
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Sakai M, Tamaki S, Murata I, Parajuli RK, Matsumura A, Kubo N, Tashiro M. Experimental study on Compton camera for boron neutron capture therapy applications. Sci Rep 2023; 13:22883. [PMID: 38129553 PMCID: PMC10739814 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49955-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a high-dose-intensive radiation therapy that has gained popularity due to advancements in accelerator neutron sources. To determine the dose for BNCT, it is necessary to know the difficult-to-determine boron concentration and neutron fluence. To estimate this dose, we propose a method of measuring the prompt γ-rays (PGs) from the boron neutron capture reaction (BNCR) using a Compton camera. We performed a fundamental experiment to verify basic imaging performance and the ability to discern the PGs from 511 keV annihilation γ-rays. A Si/CdTe Compton camera was used to image the BNCR and showed an energy peak of 478 keV PGs, separate from the annihilation γ-ray peak. The Compton camera could visualize the boron target with low neutron intensity and high boron concentration. This study experimentally confirms the ability of Si/CdTe Compton cameras to image BNCRs.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Sakai
- Gunma University Heavy Ion Medical Center, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma, 371-8511, Japan.
| | - S Tamaki
- Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - I Murata
- Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - R K Parajuli
- Gunma University Heavy Ion Medical Center, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma, 371-8511, Japan
- Sydney Imaging Core Research Facility, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2050, Australia
| | - A Matsumura
- Gunma University Heavy Ion Medical Center, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma, 371-8511, Japan
| | - N Kubo
- Gunma University Heavy Ion Medical Center, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma, 371-8511, Japan
| | - M Tashiro
- Gunma University Heavy Ion Medical Center, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma, 371-8511, Japan
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Manabe S, Harano H, Nishiyama J. Proof-of-concept study on a water phantom-based neutron spectrometer: Experimental test with 252Cf and 241Am-Be sources. Appl Radiat Isot 2023; 200:110952. [PMID: 37523864 DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023]
Abstract
Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a promising cancer treatment that uses energetic ions released from 10B(n, α)7Li reactions. Accurate assessment of neutron energy spectra is important for simulation-based evaluation of neutron doses during BNCT. In this study, a proof-of-concept study was conducted for a neutron spectrometry technique that involves the use of a water phantom, which is commonly used for quality assurance in BNCT, as a moderator. The technique involves applying unfolding to the count rate distribution of the thermal neutron counter measured within the phantom to derive the energy spectrum. We performed experiments using a spherical 3He proportional counter in neutron fields generated by 252Cf and 241Am-Be sources. The results demonstrated that the spectrometer reasonably reproduced neutron spectra and showed the potential of using a water phantom as a moderator for such a technique.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seiya Manabe
- National Metrology Institute of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568, Japan.
| | - Hideki Harano
- National Metrology Institute of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568, Japan.
| | - Jun Nishiyama
- Department of Nuclear Safety Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Tokyo City University, 1-28-1, Tamazutsumi, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 158-8557, Japan.
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Murata I, Tamaki S, Kusaka S, Maemunah IR, Sato F, Miyamaru H, Yoshida S. Neutronics Design of Fusion Reactor–Based Boron Neutron Capture Therapy in ITER. FUSION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.1080/15361055.2022.2151280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/25/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Isao Murata
- Osaka University, Graduate School of Engineering, Division of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Shingo Tamaki
- Osaka University, Graduate School of Engineering, Division of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Sachie Kusaka
- Osaka University, Graduate School of Engineering, Division of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Indah Rosidah Maemunah
- Osaka University, Graduate School of Engineering, Division of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Fuminobu Sato
- Osaka University, Graduate School of Engineering, Division of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Miyamaru
- Osaka Metropolitan University, Graduate School of Engineering, Division of Quantum and Radiation Engineering, Sakai, Osaka 599-8531, Japan
| | - Shigeo Yoshida
- Tokai University, School of Engineering, Department of Applied Chemistry, Hiratsuka, Kanagawa 259-1292, Japan
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Clinical Viability of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy for Personalized Radiation Treatment. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14122865. [PMID: 35740531 PMCID: PMC9221296 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14122865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2022] [Revised: 06/05/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Usually, for dose planning in radiotherapy, the tumor is delimited as a volume on the image of the patient together with other clinical considerations based on populational evidence. However, the same prescription dose can provide different results, depending on the patient. Unfortunately, the biological aspects of the tumor are hardly considered in dose planning. Boron Neutron Capture Radiotherapy enables targeted treatment by incorporating boron-10 at the cellular level and irradiating with neutrons of a certain energy so that they produce nuclear reactions locally and almost exclusively damage the tumor cell. This technique is not new, but modern neutron generators and more efficient boron carriers have reactivated the clinical interest of this technique in the pursuit of more precise treatments. In this work, we review the latest technological facilities and future possibilities for the clinical implementation of BNCT and for turning it into a personalized therapy. Abstract Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is a promising binary disease-targeted therapy, as neutrons preferentially kill cells labeled with boron (10B), which makes it a precision medicine treatment modality that provides a therapeutic effect exclusively on patient-specific tumor spread. Contrary to what is usual in radiotherapy, BNCT proposes cell-tailored treatment planning rather than to the tumor mass. The success of BNCT depends mainly on the sufficient spatial biodistribution of 10B located around or within neoplastic cells to produce a high-dose gradient between the tumor and healthy tissue. However, it is not yet possible to precisely determine the concentration of 10B in a specific tissue in real-time using non-invasive methods. Critical issues remain to be resolved if BNCT is to become a valuable, minimally invasive, and efficient treatment. In addition, functional imaging technologies, such as PET, can be applied to determine biological information that can be used for the combined-modality radiotherapy protocol for each specific patient. Regardless, not only imaging methods but also proteomics and gene expression methods will facilitate BNCT becoming a modality of personalized medicine. This work provides an overview of the fundamental principles, recent advances, and future directions of BNCT as cell-targeted cancer therapy for personalized radiation treatment.
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