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Lerendegui-Marco, J., Balibrea-Correa, J., Alvarez-Rodriguez, P., Babiano-Suarez, V., Gameiro, B., Ladarescu, I., et al. (2025). First pilot tests of Compton imaging and boron concentration measurements in BNCT using i-TED. Appl. Radiat. Isot., 225, 112009–9pp.
Abstract: Dosimetry in BNCT poses significant challenges due to the indirect effect of neutrons interacting with elements within the body and uncertainties associated with the uptake of boron compounds used in clinical practice. Current treatment planning relies on unconventional estimates of boron tumor uptake derived from prior PET scans and thus, an online boron-uptake monitor would be highly convenient. This work presents the first pilot experiments carried out at ILL-Grenoble with the high-efficiency Compton camera i-TED, hereby aiming at demonstrating its applicability for BNCT dosimetry by introducing real-time measurement of the boron concentration and imaging capabilities of spatial dose distribution. In this experiment, we measured the 10B uptake of different cancer cells of tongue squamous cell carcinoma, malignant melanoma and glioblastoma treated with BPA (80 ppm of 10B). The samples were irradiated with the thermal neutron spectrum of ILL-Grenoble and the 478 keV 1-rays from the 7Li de-excitation after the neutron-boron reaction were registered both with the Compton imager and the high-sensitivity FIPPS HPGe array. These series of measurements allowed us to demonstrate the imaging capabilities of the Compton imaging device for the 478 keV 1-rays of interest for dosimetry in BNCT, as well as to assess its sensitivity, which was found to be below 1 μg of 10B.
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Verdera, A., Torres-Sanchez, P., Praena, J., & Porras, I. (2024). Study of the out-of-field dose from an accelerator-based neutron source for boron neutron capture therapy. Appl. Radiat. Isot., 212, 111458–6pp.
Abstract: One important issue in Boron Neutron Capture Therapy is the delivered dose to the tissues outside the tumor. An international standard for light ion beam systems sets two recommended limits for out-of-field dose based on distance from the field edge: maximum absorbed dose from all radiation types shall not exceed 0.5 % of the maximum dose at distances 15 cm to 50 cm from the field edge. At distances > 50 cm from the field edge, the maximum absorbed dose shall not exceed 0.1 %. This paper is a continuation of our previous works focused on the design of an accelerator-based neutron source for BNCT. We already designed a novel Beam Shape Assembly which meets the IAEA criteria for BNCT treatments. Using this BSA, in the present work, we characterize by Monte Carlo simulations the dose outside the neutron field. The out-of-field dose has been assessed via estimates using the ambient and equivalent dose. Also the boron uptake in healthy tissues has been analyzed for the equivalent dose computation. It is concluded that our design for a future accelerator-based source for BNCT meets reasonably well the criteria defined from other forms of radiotherapy on both equivalent and effective dose outside the field.
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