0000000000245414
AUTHOR
S. Fatemi
CHARACTERIZATION OF THE GAMMA DOSE COMPONENT IN THE NEUTRON FIELD OF A BNCT IRRADIATION FACILITY
At the University of Pavia, a neutron irradiation facility has been constructed for preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies for BNCT. The facility is a wide channel (40 x 20 x 100 cm3) inside the graphite Thermal Column of the 250 KW research reactor TRIGA Mark II. The neutron field consists in a thermal component ranging from about 1010 and 109 cm-2s-1 along the longitudinal axis of the channel and it is uniform within 10% along the transversal axes. The fast neutron contamination (En > 1.58 keV) is more than 2 orders of magnitude lower. The gamma background coming from the core has been reduced with a 20 cm thick bismuth shield, however in the facility a gamma component is still prese…
Neutron flux and gamma dose measurement in the BNCT irradiation facility at the TRIGA reactor of the University of Pavia
Abstract University of Pavia is equipped with a TRIGA Mark II research nuclear reactor, operating at a maximum steady state power of 250 kW. It has been used for many years to support Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) research. An irradiation facility was constructed inside the thermal column of the reactor to produce a sufficient thermal neutron flux with low epithermal and fast neutron components, and low gamma dose. In this irradiation position, the liver of two patients affected by hepatic metastases from colon carcinoma were irradiated after borated drug administration. The facility is currently used for cell cultures and small animal irradiation. Measurements campaigns have been ca…