Design considerations for the proposed HIFAR thermal and epithermal neutron capture therapy facilities
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Date
1992
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Plenum Press
Abstract
At the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization (ANSTO) the 100kW reactor Moata has been used successfully for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) of murine melanoma xenografts. Envisaged large animal and human irradiations would require a beam from the High Flux Australian Reactor (HIFAR). Attaining a therapeutic beam for BCNT at HIFAR present a challenge in physical design and engineering, as there is restricted access to core neutrons. major modifications to the HIFAR shielding are precluded as this action would require a long shutdown and a significant and costly safety analysis. The only feasible existing beam tube that may provide a BNCT beam is the 28 cm diameter 10H re-entrant hole, located at the core mid-plane. The 10H end-plate is located approximately 9 cm from two outer core fuel elements, separated from them by D2O. The 10H facility is currently used for neutron diffraction studies, and has a collimator installed which reduces the beam to a 5 cm square hole. A description of the 10H beam hole is contained in a calculational optimization study of an epithermal beam for HIFAR. A major component of the study was a comparison of different filter combinations located at the core end of 10H to maximize therapeutic gain at depth in a one-dimensional phantom model. Dose rates in the phantom were shown to lie close to the lower limit of acceptability for BNCT. © Plenum Press
Description
Physical copies held by ANSTO Library at DDC: 616.994/7
Keywords
Design, Epithermal neutrons, Feasibility studies, HIFAR Reactor, Neutron beams, Neutron capture therapy, Optimization, Phantoms, Radiation doses
Citation
Storr, G. J., Allen, B. J., Harrington, B. V., Elcombe, M. M., Meriaty, H., & Davis, L. R. (1992). Design considerations for the proposed HIFAR thermal and epithermal neutron capture therapy facilities. Paper presented to the Fourth International Symposium on Neutron Capture Therapy for Cancer, December 4-7, 1990, Sydney, Australia. In B. J. Allen, D. E. Moore, & B. V. Harrington, (Eds.). Progress in neutron capture therapy for cancer (pp. 79-82). New York, USA :Plenum Press.