Detail Engineering Design of Compact Neutron Generator to Support BNCT Facility in Indonesia

Widarto Widarto

doi:10.24246/ijpna.v3i1.15-20

Abstract

Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is a method of cancer therapy based on neutron radiation which has advantages over the other cancer therapy methods. It uses a stable isotope of 10B which will be an excited isotope of 11B when irradiated by thermal neutron. It immediately (in 10-12 s) breaks into α particle and a lithium recoil nucleus. The two secondary particles play important roles in killing cancer cells. They have a short range in tissue (5 µm and 9 µm respectively) which is less than the average dimension of a cell. This leads to the damage of cancer cell only but the normal cells remain safe. Thermal and epithermal neutrons play important roles in BNCT. From the beginning the neutron sources for BNCT are nuclear reactors which produce high intensity of thermal neutrons (En <0.5 eV), epithermal neutrons (0.5 eV< En < 10 keV) and fast neutrons (En > 10 keV). However, nuclear reactors are very expensive and too large to be used in hospitals. In addition, the operation of nuclear reactors is under restricted protocols related to safety and physical protection. A compact neutron generator is a good choice of neutron source for BNCT. The advantages of compact neutron generator are that the size is small and that the neutron yield is more than 109 ns-1 which satisfies the requirement recommended by IAEA. Additionally, the neutron energy is not so high that it requires a complicated neutron collimator, the operation is easy, and the public acceptance is higher than with nuclear reactors. Based on the requirements of epithermal neutron beam for BNCT facility, the detailed engineering design of compact neutron generator has been made.

Highlights

An ideal therapy for cancer would be one whereby all tumor cells were selectively destroyed without damaging normal tissues
The promise of a new experimental cancer therapy with some indication of its potential efficacy has led many scientists from around the world to work on an approach called boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT)[1]
Up until 1994, low energy thermal neutron beams (En < 0.5 eV) were used primarily in Japan, but since they have a limited depth of penetration in tissues, higher energy epithermal neutron beams (0.5 eV< En < 10 keV) which have a greater depth of penetration, have been used in clinical trials in United States, Europe and Japan[3]

Summary

Introduction

An ideal therapy for cancer would be one whereby all tumor cells were selectively destroyed without damaging normal tissues. Keywords Compact neutron generator, engineering design, BNCT Up until 1994, low energy thermal neutron beams (En < 0.5 eV) were used primarily in Japan, but since they have a limited depth of penetration in tissues, higher energy epithermal neutron beams (0.5 eV< En < 10 keV) which have a greater depth of penetration, have been used in clinical trials in United States, Europe and Japan[3].

Results

Conclusion