Simulation of the neutron flux in the irradiation facility at RA-3 reactor

Toward a clinical application of ex situ boron neutron capture therapy for lung tumors at the RA‐3 reactor in Argentina

“…A TCCF was built in the RA-3 reactor 8 yr ago, consisting in a rectangular air cavity (∼2500 cm 3 ) surrounded by graphite, giving place to a quasihomogeneous high thermal flux of about 10 10 cm −2 s −1 . RA-3 TCCF has been first described and validated in  code by Bortolussi et al 31…”

Design, construction and application of a neutron shield for the treatment of diffuse lung metastases in rats using BNCT

“…The program used throughout the design process to simulate the particle transport in the shield and computationally characterize the neutron flux distribution for the proposed configurations was the Monte Carlo transport code MCNP (X-5 Monte Carlo Team, 2008). Two MCNP models of the RA-3 facility were used: (1) a simplified representation that allows for rapid screening of different configuration set-ups while deriving quite accurate results with short time simulations (Farías et al, 2009), and (2) a complete source model that mimics the exact geometry and materials of the whole reactor and biomedical facility is used to obtain more accurate results at the cost of increasing simulation times (Bortolussi et al, 2011a(Bortolussi et al, , 2011b.…”

“…The ultimate objective of the project is to develop a clinical protocol that would involve explanting tumor-bearing lungs, treat them with BCNT, and then reimplant the organs into the patient. Within this context, and based on previous work of Altieri et al (2006), Bakeine et al (2009), Bortolussi et al (2011aBortolussi et al ( , 2011b, the radiobiology group at CNEA has designed a preclinical protocol based on a colon carcinoma multiple lung metastases model in BDIX rats (Trivillin et al, this issue). The animals treated with BNCT are evaluated for radiotoxic and tumor control effects, and finally the feasibility of the technique will be assessed.…”