Accurate Monte Carlo modeling of cyclotrons for optimization of shielding and activation calculations in the biomedical field

Infantino, Angelo; Marengo, Mario; Baschetti, Serafina; Cicoria, Gianfranco; Vaschetto, Vittorio Longo; Lucconi, G.; Massucci, Piera; Vichi, Sara; Zagni, Federico; Mostacci, Domiziano

doi:10.1016/j.radphyschem.2015.01.001

Cited by 24 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The model was based on Monte Carlo simulations with the FLUKA code (Ferrari et al 2005;Boehlen et al 2014), version 2021.2.9. Similar approaches can be found in literature (Calandrino et al 2006; Martinez-Serrano and Diez de los Rios 2010; Hagiwara et al 2011;Infantino et al 2015;Konheiser et al 2019;Vichi et al 2020;Calandrino et al 2021).…”

Section: Monte Carlo Simulationssupporting

confidence: 68%

Decommissioning of a Medical Cyclotron Vault: The Case Study of the National Cancer Institute of Milano

Pola,

Bortot,

Pasquato

et al. 2024

Health Physics

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In the widespread use of medical cyclotrons for isotope production, radiological and economic consequences related to the decommissioning of particle accelerators are often neglected. However, decommissioning regulation and its related procedures always demand efforts and costs that can unexpectedly impact on budgets. The magnitude of this impact depends strongly on the residual radioactivity of the accelerator and of the vault, and more specifically on the kind and activity concentration of residual radionuclides. This work reports and discusses a case study that analyzes in detail the characterization activities needed for optimized management of the decommissioning of a medical cyclotron vault. In particular, this paper presents the activities carried out for assessing the activity concentrations and for guiding the disposal of the cyclotron vault of the Italian National Cancer Institute of Milano (INT). An unshielded 17 MeV cyclotron vault was characterized by high resolution gamma-ray spectrometry both in-situ and in-laboratory on extracted samples. Monte Carlo simulations were also carried out to assess the overall distribution of activation in the vault. After a few months from the final shutdown of the accelerator, activity concentrations in the concrete walls due to neutron activation exceeded the clearance levels in many regions, especially close to the cyclotron target. Due to the relatively long half-lives of some radionuclides, a time interval of about 20 y after the end of bombardment is necessary for achieving clearance in some critical positions. Far from the target or in positions shielded by the cyclotron, activation levels were below the clearance level. The comparison between Monte Carlo simulations and experimental results shows a good agreement. The in-situ measurements, simpler and economically advantageous, cannot completely replace the destructive measurements, but they may limit the number of required samples and consequently the decommissioning costs. The methodology described and the results obtained demonstrated that it is possible to obtain accurate estimations of activity concentrations with cheap and quick in-situ measurements if the concentration profile in-depth inside the wall is well known. This profile can be obtained either experimentally or numerically through suitably validated Monte Carlo simulations.

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Section: Monte Carlo Simulationssupporting

confidence: 68%

Decommissioning of a Medical Cyclotron Vault: The Case Study of the National Cancer Institute of Milano

Pola,

Bortot,

Pasquato

et al. 2024

Health Physics

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“…Although tools simulating the effects of ionizing radiation exist (Emmanuel & Raghavan, 2016;Infantino et al, 2015;Pourrouquet et al, 2011) there is still the need to develop a handy application for supporting professionals (usually physicists or medical physicist), which would help in fast and easy computations, enabling the selection of the most appropriate shielding. In this way, the safety of patients and medical staff would be ensured.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

XShields: Cross-platform Application for the Design of Shields against Ionizing Radiation

Chlewicki

CICHOŃ

Zolubak

et al. 2019

Studies in Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric

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In many cases medical diagnosis is based on information obtained through a process involving the emission of different forms of ionizing radiation. The safety of the medical staff and patients exposed to ionizing radiation is highly dependent on the proper design of the shielding used in the laboratory. Therefore, the authors propose a multi-platform application supporting such a design through the computation of the critical parameters of shielding. The specific requirements for shielding are defined by government authorities so the algorithm must comply with all the written standards. The application was implemented using Xamarin. Forms for cross-platform development. The results obtained with the use of the developed tool were compared with those calculated manually for the design of stationary shields developed, deployed, and validated by local inspection.

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“…These investigations have also been done on materials used in proton treatment rooms, including phantoms and detectors for routine measurements (Hermanne et al 2014, Ditrói et al 2016a, 2016b, Garrido et al 2016. Analytical models of activation calculation around medical cyclotrons have been provided in international guidelines (NCRP 2003) and scientific literature has discussed activation of treatment room components in terms of radiation protection (Infantino et al 2015). Radiation protection recommendations for ion beam therapy facilities have been issued (PTCOG 2010, Wroe and Rightnar 2012, Horton and Eaton 2017.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Activation of QA devices and phantom materials under clinical scanning proton beams—a gamma spectrometry study

et al. 2018

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Activation of detectors and phantoms used for commissioning and quality assurance of clinical proton beams may lead to radiation protection issues. Good understanding of the activation nuclide vectors involved is necessary to assess radiation risk for the personnel working with these devices on a daily basis or to fulfill legal requirements regarding transport of radioactive material and its release to the public. 11 devices and material samples were irradiated with a 220 MeV proton pencil beam (PBS, Proton Therapy Center, Prague). This study focuses on devices manufactured by IBA Dosimetry GmbH: MatriXX PT, PPC05, Stingray, Zebra, Lynx, a Blue Phantom rail and samples of RW3, PMMA, titanium, copper and carbon fibre plastic. Monitor units (MU) were monitored during delivery. Gamma spectrometry was then performed for each item using a HPGe detector, with a focus on longer lived gamma emitting radionuclides. Activities were quantified for all found isotopes and compared to relevant legal limits for exemption and clearance of radioactive objects. Activation was found to be significant after long irradiation sessions, as done during commissioning of a proton therapy room. Some of the investigated devices may also cumulate activity in time, depending on the scenario of periodic irradiation in routine clinical practice. However, the levels of activity and resulting beta/gamma doses are more comparable to internationally recommended concentration limits for exemption than to dose limits for radiation workers. Results of this study will help to determine nuclide inventories required by some legal authorities for radiation protection purposes.

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Accurate Monte Carlo modeling of cyclotrons for optimization of shielding and activation calculations in the biomedical field

Cited by 24 publications

References 15 publications

Decommissioning of a Medical Cyclotron Vault: The Case Study of the National Cancer Institute of Milano

Decommissioning of a Medical Cyclotron Vault: The Case Study of the National Cancer Institute of Milano

XShields: Cross-platform Application for the Design of Shields against Ionizing Radiation

Activation of QA devices and phantom materials under clinical scanning proton beams—a gamma spectrometry study

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