Phantom experiment and calculation for in vivo¹⁰boron analysis by prompt gamma ray spectroscopy

Abstract

In order to determine 10B concentrations in a tumour in vivo without injuring tissues, phantom experiments and calculations were carried out for boron neutron capture therapy. The experiment was based on prompt gamma ray spectroscopy and a single-crystal silicon-filtered neutron beam from a TRIGA-II reactor. Calibration curves to determine the 10B concentrations in the tumours were experimentally generated from known 10B values for simulated tumours with various volumes in a phantom. The 10B distributions in a tumour were also investigated and it was possible to distinguish the tumour with 10B from normal tissue without 10B. In addition, the 10B concentrations were estimated by calculations. A two-dimensional discrete ordinate transport code, DOT3.5, was employed for the calculations of the neutron fluence rate distributions in a phantom. The number of incidental gamma rays entering a germanium detector, which were produced in a tumour as a result of neutron reaction, were calculated by an analytical method. The results were in good agreement with the experiments.

Boron analysis and boron imaging in biological materials for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT)

“…The method was used to measure the 10 Bconcentration in samples for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy since many years [34][35][36]. The principle of PGRA is based on gamma-ray spectroscopy following neutron capture in 10 B.…”

Boron Determination—A Review of Analytical Methods

“…Prompt g spectroscopy is an extensively used method for the measurement of 10 B (154,161,162). The g-ray emitted from the disintegrating 10 B nuclei due to the action of the neutron is detected.…”

Comparison of finite-difference transport and diffusion calculations for photon migration in homogeneous and heterogeneous tissues

“…While this method for solving the transport equation for arbitrary media was introduced as early as 1950 (Chandrasekhar 1950) and finds a wide range of applications in various fields that deal with the transport equation, e.g. oceanography and atmospheric science (Liou 1973, Vanbauce et al 1993, Jin and Stamnes 1994, astronomy (Chick et al 1996), neutron physics (Badruzzaman andChiaramonte 1985, Rhoades andChilds 1991) and medicine (Matsumoto et al 1991), it has rarely been used to describe light transport in tissues. The only exception is the work by Rastegar et al (1989) who used a discrete-ordinate method that was developed by Houf and Incropera (1980) to calculate the one-dimensional fluence rate distribution in a small, slab-like, homogeneous medium.…”