Search

As part of an exploratory research project at the Institute for Energy (Joint Research Centre of the European Commission), a feasibility assessment was performed for the design and construction of a high-intensity positron facility (HIPOS) in a neutron beam tube, HB9, at the High Flux Reactor (HFR) in Petten. The full model of reactor core, reflector and reactor instrumentation at the neutron beam line HB9 were modeled and full neutronic and photonic calculations were carried out by MCNP4C3. The source file was generated in two formats: SDEF and WESSA. Consequently, two different codes were used for scoring analysis for the optimization of the concept and geometry of positron generator. The main concept including key design parameters have been evaluated independently by two computer codes, in particular MCNP-X and GEANT4. The parametric design analysis including the optimization of positron generator at the pre-selected neutron beam line is reported in this paper. The detailed assessment of the critical design parameters, specifically from technological point of view is summarised. The results of independent analysis confirmed that the best approach is to combine two concepts of positron generation, which are based on the exploiting of neutron and gamma radiation. The results verified that the proposed concept can reach the defined threshold of the positron yield and the positron beam can reach an intensity of 1013 e+/sec (un-moderated). The details of completed work are reported in this paper., JRC.F.5-Nuclear Reactor Safety Assessment

As part of an Exploratory Research Project at the Institute for Energy and Transport (Joint Research Centre of the European Commission), a feasibility assessment was performed for the construction and placement of a high-intensity positron facility (HIPOS) in a beam tube, HB9, at the High flux reactor (HFR) in Petten. This paper reports on the results of Monte Carlo simulations to optimise the concept of the HIPOS positron generator and to determine the performance characteristics of the chosen generator design. In the first step, a detailed model of the HFR reactor core, reflector, instrumentation and HB9 beam tube was prepared, and coupled neutron and photon transport calculations were carried out with the MCNP4C3 code to establish neutron and photon source terms on boundary surfaces of the HB9 beam tube. These sources were subsequently used with the MCNPX code to optimise the positron generator concept and geometry. The results showed that the positron beam can reach an integral intensity of 1013 e+/s before the moderation stage, easily meeting the specified target and confirming the hypothesis that very high positron yields can be obtained by using combined neutron and gamma radiation sources from a high flux reactor. Full details of the research work are reported in this study.

The evaluation of possible improvement in the use of Gd in cancer therapy, in reference to gadolinium in cancer therapy (GdNCT), has been analysed. At first the problem of the gadolinium compounds toxicity was reviewed identifying the Motexafin Gadolinium as the best. Afterwards, the spectrum of IC and Auger electrons was calculated using a special method. Afterwards, this electron source has been used as input of the PENELOPE code and the energy deposit in DNA was well defined. Taking into account that the electron yield and energy distribution are related to the neutron beam spectrum and intensity, the shaping assembly architecture was optimised through computational investigations. Finally the study of GdNCT was performed from two different points of view: macrodosimetry using MCNPX, with calculation of absorbed doses both in tumour and healthy tissues, and microdosimetry using PENELOPE, with the determination of electron RBE through the energy deposit. The equivalent doses were determined combining these two kinds of data, introducing specific figures of merit to be used in treatment planning system (TPS). According to these results, the GdNCT appears to be a fairly possible tumour therapy.

The dosimetry method based on Fricke–Xylenol-Orange-infused gels in form of layers has shown noticeable potentiality for in-phantom or in-free-beam dose and thermal flux profiling and imaging in the high fluxes of thermal or epithermal neutrons utilised for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). Gel-dosimeters in form of layers give the possibility not only of obtaining spatial dose distributions but also of achieving measurements of each dose contribution in neutron fields. The discrimination of the various dose components is achieved by means of pixel-to-pixel manipulations of pairs of images obtained with gel-dosimeters having different isotopic composition. It is possible to place large dosimeters, detecting in such a way large dose images, because the layer geometry of dosimeters avoids sensitive variation of neutron transport due to the gel isotopic composition. Some results obtained after the last improvements of the method are reported.

A thorough evaluation of the dose inside a specially designed and built facility for extra-corporeal treatment of liver cancer by boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) at the High Flux Reactor (HFR) Petten (The Netherlands) is the necessary step before animal studies can start. The absorbed doses are measured by means of gel dosemeters, which help to validate the Monte Carlo simulations of the spheroidal liver holder that will contain the human liver for irradiation with an epithermal neutron beam. These dosemeters allow imaging of the dose due to gammas and to the charged particles produced by the (10)B reaction. The thermal neutron flux is extrapolated from the boron dose images and compared to that obtained by the calculations. As an additional reference, Au, Cu and Mn foil measurements are performed. All results appear consistent with the calculations and confirm that the BNCT liver facility is able to provide an almost homogeneous thermal neutron distribution in the liver, which is a requirement for a successful treatment of liver metastases.

Monte Carlo modelling of an irradiation facility, for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) application, using a set of advanced type, accelerator based, 3 H(d,n) 4 He (D–T) fusion neutron source device is presented. Some general issues concerning the design of a proper irradiation beam shaping assembly, based on very hard energy neutron source spectrum, are reviewed. The facility here proposed, which represents an interesting solution compared to the much more investigated Li or Be based accelerator driven neutron source could fulfil all the medical and safety requirements to be used by an hospital environment.

The article shows the digital image analysis of X-ray and neutron radiography (NR) ad hoc developed for the inspection and monitoring of nuclear samples, used in several experiments at the High Flux Reactor of the Institute for Energy (JRC-Petten). This application is valuable not only in the characterization of the sample and of the experimental assembly, but also in acquiring information on the sample behaviour during and after the irradiation. The inspection foresees the X-ray radiography of the sample in order to detect the eventual presence of fabrication defects. During and/or after the irradiation, NR helps to understand the sample behaviour under irradiation (such as swelling, disintegration). NR can also be performed before the irradiation for comparison with NR during the irradiation and with the X-ray. The image analysis is used for acquiring qualitative and quantitative information from these inspection techniques at a high level of accuracy.

Geant4 is a software toolkit for the simulation of the passage of particles through matter. It is used by a large number of experiments and projects in a variety of application domains, including high energy physics, astrophysics and space science, medical physics and radiation protection. Its functionality and modeling capabilities continue to be extended, while its performance is enhanced. An overview of recent developments in diverse areas of the toolkit is presented. These include performance optimization for complex setups; improvements for the propagation in fields; new options for event biasing; and additions and improvements in geometry, physics processes and interactive capabilities.

Preliminary results of simulation studies performed to evaluate the background radiation levels in the LHCb experiment are presented in the paper. LHCb is one of the experiments that will operate at the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) under construction at CERN. The simulation toolkit Geant4 has been used to model the interactions of particles with the detector. Geant4 is a software toolkit developed and maintained by a world-wide collaboration of physicists and computer scientists. The principal monitored distributions in this study are the dose and fluence of certain particles in specific locations of the experiment. Energy spectra need also to be evaluated in order to take into account the energy distribution of these particles, since specific problems in the electronics can be raised by particles of certain energies. To this purpose, we need: 1) Tallying doses and fluences in Geant4. 2) These quantities are generally calculated on a plane or a cylindrical surface that should not interfere with the real geometry of an experimental setup. This feature is not yet fully functional in Geant4 and not used in these studies. The 2D maps of doses and fluences of charged hadrons, neutrons, electrons and positrons, gammas on planes put in specific critical areas, where the electronics is located, have been obtained. Geant4 provides different physics models to describe interaction processes allowing customization of the simulation engine to specific problems. Preliminary results using different relevant physics models are presented.

The idea to couple the treatment planning system (TPS) to the information on the real boron distribution in the patient acquired by positron emission tomography (PET) is the main added value of the new methodology set-up at DIMNP (Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica, Nucleare e della Produzione) of University of Pisa, in collaboration with the JRC (Joint Research Centre) at Petten (NL). This methodology has been implemented in a new TPS, called Boron Distribution Treatment Planning System (BDTPS), which takes into account the actual boron distribution in the patient's organ, as opposed to other TPSs used in BNCT that assume an ideal uniform boron distribution. BDTPS is based on the Monte Carlo technique and has been experimentally validated comparing the computed main parameters (thermal neutron flux, boron dose, etc.) to those measured during the irradiation of an ad hoc designed phantom (HEterogeneous BOron phantoM, HEBOM). The results are also in good agreement with those obtained by the standard TPS SERA and by reference calculations carried out using an analytical model with the MCNP code. In this paper, the methodology followed for both the experimental and the computational validation of BDTPS is described.

Since October 1997, a clinical trial of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) for glioblastoma patients has been in progress at the High Flux Reactor, Petten, the Netherlands. The trial is a European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) protocol (#11 961) and, as such, must be conducted following the highest quality management and procedures, according to good clinical practice and also other internationally accepted codes. The complexity of BNCT involves not only strict international procedures, but also a variety of techniques to measure the different aspects of the irradiation involved when treating the patient. Applications include: free beam measurements using packets of activation foils; in-phantom measurements for beam calibration using ionisation chambers, pn-diodes and activation foils; monitoring of the irradiation beam during patient treatment using fission chambers and GM-counters; boron in blood measurements using prompt gamma ray spectroscopy; radiation protection of the patient and staff using portable radiation dosimeters and personal dosimeters; and in vivo measurements of the boron in the patient using a prompt gamma ray telescope. The procedures and applications of such techniques are presented here, with particular emphasis on the importance of the quality assurance/quality control procedures and its reporting.

Present standard treatment planning (TP) for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM – a kind of brain tumor), used in all boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) trials, requires the construction (based on CT and/or MRI images) of a 3D model of the patient head, in which several regions, corresponding to different anatomical structures, are identified. The model is then employed by a computer code to simulate radiation transport in human tissues. The assumption is always made that considering a single value of boron concentration for each specific region will not lead to significant errors in dose computation. The concentration values are estimated “indirectly”, on the basis of previous experience and blood sample analysis. This paper describes an original approach, with the introduction of data on the in vivo boron distribution, acquired by a positron emission tomography (PET) scan after labeling the BPA (borono-phenylalanine) with the positron emitter 18F. The feasibility of this approach was first tested with good results using the code CARONTE. Now a complete TPS is under development. The main features of the first version of this code are described and the results of a preliminary study are presented. Significant differences in dose computation arise when the two different approaches (“standard” and “PET-based”) are applied to the TP of the same GBM case.

The evaluation of the effectiveness of BNCT depends on the ability of knowing doses and fluences in tumor and healthy tissues associated with a BNCT irradiation on a patient. Up to now, the solution of this problem is difficult, particularly in the case of brain tumors.

Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is a bimodal form of radiotherapy for the treatment of tumour lesions. Since the cancer cells in the treatment volume are targeted with 10B, a higher dose is given to these cancer cells due to the 10B(n,α)7Li reaction, in comparison with the surrounding healthy cells. In Petten (The Netherlands), at the High Flux Reactor, a specially tailored neutron beam has been designed and installed. Over 30 patients have been treated with BNCT in 2 clinical protocols: a phase I study for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme and a phase II study on the treatment of malignant melanoma. Furthermore, activities concerning the extra-corporal treatment of metastasis in the liver (from colorectal cancer) are in progress. The irradiation beam at the HFR contains both neutrons and gammas that, together with the complex geometries of both patient and beam set-up, demands for very detailed treatment planning calculations. A well designed Treatment Planning System (TPS) should obey the following general scheme: (1) a pre-processing phase (CT and/or MRI scans to create the geometric solid model, cross-section files for neutrons and/or gammas); (2) calculations (3D radiation transport, estimation of neutron and gamma fluences, macroscopic and microscopic dose); (3) post-processing phase (displaying of the results, iso-doses and -fluences). Treatment planning in BNCT is performed making use of Monte Carlo codes incorporated in a framework, which includes also the pre- and post-processing phases. In particular, the glioblastoma multiforme protocol used BNCT_rtpe, while the melanoma metastases protocol uses NCTPlan. In addition, an ad hoc Positron Emission Tomography (PET) based treatment planning system (BDTPS) has been implemented in order to integrate the real macroscopic boron distribution obtained from PET scanning. BDTPS is patented and uses MCNP as the calculation engine. The precision obtained by the Monte Carlo based TPSs exploited at Petten is considered sufficient for the scope of the project. In order to accelerate obtaining an optimised treatment plan, a study is performed which uses linear programming. In this way the beam weights of a particular set of calculated beams are obtained mathematically.