Neutron Dosimetry Research Articles

Experimental characterization of HOTNES: A new thermal neutron facility with large homogeneity area

A new thermal neutron irradiation facility, called HOTNES (HOmogeneous Thermal NEutron Source), was established in the framework of a collaboration between INFN-LNF and ENEA-Frascati. HOTNES is a polyethylene assembly, with about 70cmx70cm square section and 100cm height, including a large, cylindrical cavity with diameter 30cm and height 70cm. The facility is supplied by a 241Am-B source located at the bottom of this cavity. The facility was designed in such a way that the iso-thermal-fluence surfaces, characterizing the irradiation volume, coincide with planes parallel to the cavity bottom. The thermal fluence rate across a given isofluence plane is as uniform as 1% on a disk with 30cm diameter. Thermal fluence rate values from about 700cm−2s−1 to 1000cm−2s−1 can be achieved. The facility design, previously optimized by Monte Carlo simulation, was experimentally verified. The following techniques were used: gold activation foils to assess the thermal fluence rate, semiconductor-based active detector for mapping the irradiation volume, and Bonner Sphere Spectrometer to determine the complete neutron spectrum. HOTNES is expected to be attractive for the scientific community involved in neutron metrology, neutron dosimetry and neutron detector testing.

A novel approach to neutron dosimetry.

Having been overlooked for many years, research is now starting to take into account the directional distribution of neutron workplace fields. Existing neutron dosimetry instrumentation does not account for this directional distribution, resulting in conservative estimates of dose in neutron workplace fields (by around a factor of 2, although this is heavily dependent on the type of field). This conservatism could influence epidemiological studies on the health effects of radiation exposure. This paper reports on the development of an instrument which can estimate the effective dose of a neutron field, accounting for both the direction and the energy distribution. A 6Li-loaded scintillator was used to perform neutron assays at a number of locations in a 20 × 20 × 17.5 cm3 water phantom. The variation in thermal and fast neutron response to different energies and field directions was exploited. The modeled response of the instrument to various neutron fields was used to train an artificial neural network (ANN) to learn the effective dose and ambient dose equivalent of these fields. All experimental data published in this work were measured at the National Physical Laboratory (UK). Experimental results were obtained for a number of radionuclide source based neutron fields to test the performance of the system. The results of experimental neutron assays at 25 locations in a water phantom were fed into the trained ANN. A correlation between neutron counting rates in the phantom and neutron fluence rates was experimentally found to provide dose rate estimates. A radionuclide source behind shadow cone was used to create a more complex field in terms of energy and direction. For all fields, the resulting estimates of effective dose rate were within 45% or better of their calculated values, regardless of energy distribution or direction for measurement times greater than 25 min. This work presents a novel, real-time, approach to workplace neutron dosimetry. It is believed that in the research presented in this paper, for the first time, a single instrument has been able to estimate effective dose.

Detector for imaging and dosimetry of laser-driven epithermal neutrons by alpha conversion

An epithermal neutron imager based on detecting alpha particles created via boron neutron capture mechanism is discussed. The diagnostic mainly consists of a mm thick Boron Nitride (BN) sheet (as an alpha converter) in contact with a non-borated cellulose nitride film (LR115 type-II) detector. While the BN absorbs the neutrons in the thermal and epithermal ranges, the fast neutrons register insignificantly on the detector due to their low neutron capture and recoil cross-sections. The use of solid-state nuclear track detectors (SSNTD), unlike image plates, micro-channel plates and scintillators, provide safeguard from the x-rays, gamma-rays and electrons. The diagnostic was tested on a proof-of-principle basis, in front of a laser driven source of moderated neutrons, which suggests the potential of using this diagnostic (BN+SSNTD) for dosimetry and imaging applications.

2-D GEM-BASED TEPC FOR NEUTRON PROTECTION DOSIMETRY

A tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) based on a gas electron multiplier (GEM) with a 2-dimensional (2-D) readout board for neutron dosimetry was developed and tested. This 2-D design of the anode structure presents multiple advantages over the traditional spherical TEPC design. This type of detector does not need a central wire to provide amplification as in traditional proportional counter design, making it possible to achieve higher efficiency (or sensitivity). Each charge-collecting pad in the 2-D structure represents a single miniature TEPC that can simulate the tissue size of a fraction of a micrometre. Such measurements could provide more precise dose-equivalent levels. In addition, the 2-D anode pattern provides the ability to reconstruct the 2-D projection of the ionizing particle’s track and it paves the way for the development of a time projection chamber for the full 3-D track reconstruction. This would prove an invaluable tool in future microdosimetry research. The simple design of ...

A calibration method for realistic neutron dosimetry in radiobiological experiments assisted by MCNP simulation.

Many studies on biological effects of neutrons involve dose responses of neutrons, which rely on accurately determined absorbed doses in the irradiated cells or living organisms. Absorbed doses are difficult to measure, and are commonly surrogated with doses measured using separate detectors. The present work describes the determination of doses absorbed in the cell layer underneath a medium column (DA) and the doses absorbed in an ionization chamber (DE) from neutrons through computer simulations using the MCNP-5 code, and the subsequent determination of the conversion coefficients R (= DA/DE). It was found that R in general decreased with increase in the medium thickness, which was due to elastic and inelastic scattering. For 2-MeV neutrons, conspicuous bulges in R values were observed at medium thicknesses of about 500, 1500, 2500 and 4000 μm, and these were attributed to carbon, oxygen and nitrogen nuclei, and were reflections of spikes in neutron interaction cross sections with these nuclei. For 0.1-MeV neutrons, no conspicuous bulges in R were observed (except one at ~2000 μm that was due to photon interactions), which was explained by the absence of prominent spikes in the interaction cross-sections with these nuclei for neutron energies <0.1 MeV. The ratio R could be increased by ~50% for small medium thickness if the incident neutron energy was reduced from 2 MeV to 0.1 MeV. As such, the absorbed doses in cells (DA) would vary with the incident neutron energies, even when the absorbed doses shown on the detector were the same.

Experimental characterization of the neutron spectra generated by a high-energy clinical linac using neutron activation metal detectors

Introduction Electron linacs accelerate high-energy electron beams to impinge on high Z targets producing bremsstrahlung photons. Due to high operational energy of this type of linacs a significant number of neutrons are created by (γ,n) reactions. Purpose The main objective of this work is to report the results of an experimental characterization of the neutron spectra generated by a high-energy clinical LINAC. The photoneutron contamination of an ELEKTA is investigated in detail in its 15 MV photon mode. Materials and methods We developed a technique for neutron dosimetry based on neutron activation of different metal detectors. This system offers the possibility to measure neutrons over a wide energy range at intense and complex mixed n–g fields. To obtain the neutron spectrum from the activation technique, measurements must be unfolded. A method for unfolding the neutron energy spectra has been developed using the Minuit minimization. Results The unfolded procedure reproduced reasonably well the physical expectation of two peaks in the spectrum. Both peaks are located in the correct energy region; from 1e-8 to 1e-6 MeV the thermal component and from 0.05 to 1 MeV the fast. The fast part of the spectrum gives two peaks at energies of 0.1 and 0.8 MeV. The thermal peak corresponds to the 15% of the total neutron fluence and the fast component covers ∼70% of the neutron spectrum. Conclusion The unfolded procedure using the Minuit minimization reproduced reasonably well the physical expectation of two peaks in the spectrum.

Experimental determination of the epithermal neutron sensitivity of a new ionization chamber

Introduction The resulting improvement in the accuracy of the determination of the dose from gamma rays and epithermal and fast neutrons is important in view of the required accuracy for dosimetry in accelerator based neuron sources. Purpose A new ionization chamber detector is being developed for the epithermal neutron dosimetry at accelerator based neuron sources. To obtain a high accuracy in the dosimetry of an epithermal neutron beam used for boron–neutron capture therapy (BNCT), the neutron sensitivity of dosimeters applied to determine the various dose components in polyethylene phantom has been investigated. Materials and methods Well-stabilized neutron filed of Neutron exposure Accelerator System for Biological Effect Experiments (NASBEE) in National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) was used in this study. The epithermal neutron sensitivity LBO ionization chamber, tissue equivalent ionization chamber, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dosimeters has been experimentally determined in a neutron beam fields. Results The epithermal neutron values much higher than theoretically expected were obtained and a variation up to a factor of 1.8 was found between values for the epithermal neutron sensitivity. The ratio of a gamma dose and a thermal neutron dose was 23% in a depth of 30 mm. Conclusion The new epithermal ionization chamber response characteristic was evaluated at the accelerator based neutron sources field. Disclosure This work was supported by JSPS Kakenhi Grant Number 15K00544 .

In-laboratory development of an automatic track counting system for solid state nuclear track detectors

In this study, an automatic track counting system was developed for solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTD). Firstly the specifications of required hardware components were determined, and accordingly the CCD camera, microscope and stage motor table was supplied and integrated. The system was completed by developing parametric software with VB.Net language. Finally a set of test intended for radon activity concentration measurement was applied. According to the test results, the system was enabled for routine radon measurement. Whether the parameters of system are adjusted for another SSNTD application, it could be used for other fields of SSNTD like neutron dosimetry or heavy charged particle detection.

Study of variations in structural, optical parameters and bulk etch rate of CR-39 polymer due to electron irradiation

In this work, electron induced modifications on the bulk etch rate, structural and optical parameters of CR-39 polymer were studied using gravimetric, FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared) and UV–vis (Ultraviolet–Visible) techniques, respectively. CR-39 samples were irradiated with 10 MeV electron beam for different durations to have the absorbed doses of 1, 10, 550, 5500, 16 500, and 55 000 kGy. From the FTIR analysis, the peak intensities at different bands were found to be changing with electron dose. A few peaks were observed to shift at high electron doses. From the UV-vis analysis, the optical band gaps for both direct and indirect transitions were found to be decreasing with the increase in electron dose whereas the opacity, number of carbon atoms in conjugation length, and the number of carbon atoms per cluster were found to be increasing. The bulk etch rate was observed to be increasing with the electron dose. The primary objective of this investigation was to study the response of CR-39 to high electron doses and to determine a suitable pre-irradiation condition. The results indicated that, the CR-39 pre-irradiated with electrons can have better sensitivity and thus can be potentially applied for neutron dosimetry.

The influence of field size and off-axis distance on photoneutron spectra of the 18 MV Siemens Oncor linear accelerator beam

At present, high energy electron linear accelerators (LINACs) producing photons with energies higher than 10 MeV have a wide use in radiotherapy (RT). However, in these beams fast neutrons could be generated, which results in undesired contamination of the therapeutic beams. These neutrons affect the shielding requirements in RT rooms and also increase the out-of-field radiation dose to patients. The neutron flux becomes even more important when high numbers of monitor units are used, as in the intensity modulated radiotherapy. Herein, to evaluate the exposure of patients and medical personnel, it is important to determine the full radiation field correctly. A model of the dual photon beam medical LINAC, Siemens ONCOR, used at the University Hospital Centre of Osijek was built using the MCNP611 code. We tuned the model according to measured photon percentage depth dose curves and profiles. Only 18 MV photon beams were modeled. The dependence of neutron dose equivalent and energy spectrum on field size and off-axis distance in the patient plane was analyzed. The neutron source strength (Q) defined as a number of neutrons coming from the head of the treatment unit per x-ray dose (Gy) delivered at the isocenter was calculated and found to be 1.12 × 1012 neutrons per photon Gy at isocenter. The simulation showed that the neutron flux increases with increasing field size but field size has almost no effect on the shape of neutron dose profiles. The calculated neutron dose equivalent of different field sizes was between 1 and 3 mSv per photon Gy at isocenter. The mean energy changed from 0.21 MeV to 0.63 MeV with collimator opening from 0 × 0 cm2 to 40 × 40 cm2. At the 50 cm off-axis the change was less pronounced. According to the results, it is reasonable to conclude that the neutron dose equivalent to the patient is proportional to the photon beam-on time as suggested before. Since the beam-on time is much higher when advanced radiotherapy techniques are used to fulfill high conformity demands, this makes the neutron flux determination even more important. We also showed that the neutron energy in the patient plane significantly changes with field size. This can introduce significant uncertainty in dosimetry of neutrons due to strong dependence of the neutron detector response on the neutron energy in the interval 0.1–5 MeV.

Evaluation of Photoneutron Dose Measured by Bubble Detectors in Conventional Linacs and Cyberknife Unit: Effective Dose and Secondary Malignancy Risk Estimation.

This study aims to reduce the uncertainty about the photoneutron dose produced over a course of radiotherapy with high-energy photon beams and evaluate photoneutron contamination-based secondary malignancy risk for different treatment modalities. Dosimetric measurements were taken in Philips SL25/75, Elekta Synergy Platform (Elekta AB, Stockholm, Sweden), Varian Clinac DHX High Performance systems (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA), and Cyberknife Robotic Radiosurgery Unit (Accuray Inc., Sunnyvale, CA) using bubble detector for neutron dosimetry. The measurement data were used to determine in-field and out-of-field neutron equivalent dose in 6-MV 3D conformal radiotherapy, sliding window-intensity-modulated radiotherapy, and stereotactic body radiotherapy and to calculate the effective dose in 18-MV 3D conformal radiotherapy and sliding window-intensity-modulated radiotherapy techniques for patients with prostate cancer undergoing a standard treatment. For the 18-MV treatment techniques, the secondary malignancy risk due to the neutron contamination was estimated using the risk factors published by The International Commission on Radiological Protection. The neutron contamination-based secondary malignancy risk for the 18-MV 3D conformal radiotherapy and sliding window-intensity-modulated radiotherapy modalities was found to be 0.44% and 1.45% for Elekta Synergy Platform and 0.92% and 3.0% for the Varian Clinac DHX High Performance, respectively. For 6-MV 3D conformal radiotherapy, sliding window-intensity-modulated radiotherapy, and stereotactic body radiotherapy treatment techniques, neutron equivalent doses inside the treatment field were found to be lower than 40 mSv. Our measurements reveal that equivalent dose and effective dose due to the neutron contamination are at a considerable level for 18-MV sliding window-intensity-modulated radiotherapy treatments, while 6-MV photon beams used in different modalities still induce only negligible photoneutrons. The secondary malignancy risk based on photoneutron should be therefore taken into consideration in case of selecting 18-MV photons in a sliding window-intensity-modulated radiotherapy treatment instead of 6 MV.

Out‐of‐field doses and neutron dose equivalents for electron beams from modern Varian and Elekta linear accelerators

Out‐of‐field doses from radiotherapy can cause harmful side effects or eventually lead to secondary cancers. Scattered doses outside the applicator field, neutron source strength values, and neutron dose equivalents have not been broadly investigated for high‐energy electron beams. To better understand the extent of these exposures, we measured out‐of‐field dose characteristics of electron applicators for high‐energy electron beams on two Varian 21iXs, a Varian TrueBeam, and an Elekta Versa HD operating at various energy levels. Out‐of‐field dose profiles and percent depth‐dose curves were measured in a Wellhofer water phantom using a Farmer ion chamber. Neutron dose was assessed using a combination of moderator buckets and gold activation foils placed on the treatment couch at various locations in the patient plane on both the Varian 21iX and Elekta Versa HD linear accelerators. Our findings showed that out‐of‐field electron doses were highest for the highest electron energies. These doses typically decreased with increasing distance from the field edge but showed substantial increases over some distance ranges. The Elekta linear accelerator had higher electron out‐of‐field doses than the Varian units examined, and the Elekta dose profiles exhibited a second dose peak about 20 to 30 cm from central‐axis, which was found to be higher than typical out‐of‐field doses from photon beams. Electron doses decreased sharply with depth before becoming nearly constant; the dose was found to decrease to a depth of approximately E(MeV)/4 in cm. With respect to neutron dosimetry, Q values and neutron dose equivalents increased with electron beam energy. Neutron contamination from electron beams was found to be much lower than that from photon beams. Even though the neutron dose equivalent for electron beams represented a small portion of neutron doses observed under photon beams, neutron doses from electron beams may need to be considered for special cases.PACS number(s): 87.55.N‐, 87.55.ne, 87.56.bd, 87.56.jf

Improving the neutron-to-photon discrimination capability of detectors used for neutron dosimetry in high energy photon beam radiotherapy

The increasing interest of the medical community to radioinduced second malignancies due to photoneutrons in patients undergoing high-energy radiotherapy, has stimulated in recent years the study of peripheral doses, including the development of some dedicated active detectors. Although these devices are designed to respond to neutrons only, their parasitic photon response is usually not identically zero and anisotropic. The impact of these facts on measurement accuracy can be important, especially in points close to the photon field-edge.A simple method to estimate the photon contribution to detector readings is to cover it with a thermal neutron absorber with reduced secondary photon emission, such as a borated rubber. This technique was applied to the TNRD (Thermal Neutron Rate Detector), recently validated for thermal neutron measurements in high-energy photon radiotherapy. The positive results, together with the accessibility of the method, encourage its application to other detectors and different clinical scenarios.

Determining the neutron spectrum of 241Am-Be and 252Cf sources using bonner sphere spectrometer

Abstract Bonner spheres system is one of the ways of measuring neutron energy distribution which is often applied in spectrometry and neutron dosimetry. This system includes a thermal neutron detector, being located in the center of several polyethylene spheres, and it is still workable due to the isotropic response of the system which in turn is derived from the spherical symmetry of moderators and the broad measurable range of the energy. In order to practically use this spectrometer, it is necessary to calibrate this system using standard neutron sources. This research aimed to determine the calibration factor of Bonner spheres spectrometry system and energy spectrum of two standard 241Am-Be and 252Cf sources in the atomic energy organization. Calibration and experimental measurement were done via the two standard sources. The response vector of each detector was derived by using MCNPX simulation code, based on the Monte Carlo method. The spectra unfolding of this system was performed through iterative method using the SPUNIT code done in software NSDUAZ6LiI and BUMS.

A comparison of back propagation and Generalized Regression Neural Networks performance in neutron spectrometry

The process of unfolding the neutron energy spectrum has been subject of research for many years. Monte Carlo, iterative methods, the bayesian theory, the principle of maximum entropy are some of the methods used. The drawbacks associated with traditional unfolding procedures have motivated the research of complementary approaches. Back Propagation Neural Networks (BPNN), have been applied with success in neutron spectrometry and dosimetry domains, however, the structure and learning parameters are factors that highly impact in the networks performance. In ANN domain, Generalized Regression Neural Network (GRNN) is one of the simplest neural networks in term of network architecture and learning algorithm. The learning is instantaneous, requiring no time for training. Opposite to BPNN, a GRNN would be formed instantly with just a 1-pass training on the development data. In the network development phase, the only hurdle is to optimize the hyper-parameter, which is known as sigma, governing the smoothness of the network. The aim of this work was to compare the performance of BPNN and GRNN in the solution of the neutron spectrometry problem. From results obtained it can be observed that despite the very similar results, GRNN performs better than BPNN.

Construction of a head phantom for mixed neutron and gamma field dosimetry in TRR

Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) project in Tehran Research Reactor (TRR) is currently ongoing and an appropriate neutron beam for BNCT has been provided by modification of TRR thermal column. In order to measure the neutron beam characteristics inside of a phantom, a standard phantom is needed. The present paper describes details of the head phantom construction and its different potential. The constructed head phantom permits us to put different dosimeters with different sizes in many locations of the phantom volume. Foils, wires, TLDs and ion chamber can be placed inside of its volume. Gel dosimeter can also be poured into the phantom volume and removed from it easily.

Optically stimulated luminescence in Ag doped Li2B4O7 single crystal and its sensitivity to neutron detection and dosimetry in OSL mode

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) measurements have been carried out on single crystals of Ag doped Li2B4O7 (LTB:Ag) after exposure to various nuclear radiations. The time integrated OSL intensity is found to be linear in the range from 0.1 Gy to 500 Gy. Fading of the OSL signal was found to be around 36% in 48 h. The presence of 6Li and 10B has been gainfully utilized to measure doses of thermal neutrons. Further, the large difference between the wavelength of the stimulation source (∼460 nm) and emission from the LTB:Ag at 270 nm has enhanced the signal-to-noise ratio in a simple OSL set-up with suitable filters. The high sensitivity of the LTB:Ag to thermal neutrons will be useful in variety of applications including personal dosimetry in mixed-fields and imaging devices for neutron radiography.

In-Vessel and Ex-Vessel Neutron Dosimetry Programs in Korea

In Korea, 20 PWRs are operating and 4 more PWRs are under construction. The in-vessel neutron dosimetry programs have been designed and implemented since each plant began operation. In addition to the in-vessel dosimetry program, ex-vessel neutron dosimetry systems have been installed for 16 PWRs. The objective of this paper is to describe the in-vessel and ex-vessel neutron dosimetry program of the PWRs in Korea and to compare in-vessel and ex-vessel dosimetry evaluation results. For this purpose plant and cycle specific forward neutron transport calculations and dosimetry measurement evaluations were carried out according to Regulatory Guide 1.190. Comparisons between the calculations and measurements were also performed for the reaction rates of each dosimetry sensor and the results show good agreement.

Toward a New Evaluation of Neutron Standards

Measurements related to neutron cross section standards and certain prompt neutron fission spectra are being evaluated. In addition to the standard cross sections, investigations of reference data that are not as well known as the standards are being considered. Procedures and codes for performing this work are discussed. A number of libraries will use the results of this standards evaluation for new versions of their libraries. Most of these data have applications in neutron dosimetry.

Uncertainties in the Fluence Determination in the Surveillance Samples of VVER-440

The reactor pressure vessel (RPV) represents one of the most important safety components in a nuclear power plant. Therefore, surveillance specimen (SS) programs for the RPV material exist to deliver a reliable assessment of RPV residual lifetime. This report will present neutron fluence calculations for SS. These calculations were carried out by the codes TRAMO [1] and DORT [2]. This study was accompanied by ex-vessel neutron dosimetry experiments at Kola NPP. The main neutron activation monitoring reactions were 54 Fe(n,p)54 Mn and 58 Ni(n,p)58 Co. Good agreement was found between the deterministic and stochastic calculation results and between the calculations and the ex-vessel measurements. The different influences on the monitors were studied. In order to exclude the possible healing effects of the samples due to excessive temperatures, the heat release in the surveillance specimens was determined based on the calculated gamma fluences. Under comparatively realistic conditions, the heat increased by 6 K.