Epithermal neutron beam approach to boron neutron capture therapy

Thesis/Dissertation · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1984

OSTI ID:5821656

Noonan, D J

An epithermal neutron beam suitable for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy has been designed and tested at the Georgia Tech Research Reactor (GTRR). The GTRR beam is constructed from aluminum and sulfur filters. The combination of the two filters in a reactor beam port transmits a beam in which less than 4% of the flux is fast neutrons. The thermal neutrons are then absorbed by cadmium, leaving a highly epithermal neutron beam. The dose from the photon sand neutrons have been mapped in the beam along with their penetration in a polyethylene head phantom. The Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) of the beam as a whole was also determined. Chromosome aberration production in the plant, Tradescantia paludosa served as the endpoint. An RBE of 1.2 - 1.5 was measured. Animal trials were also conducted on tumor-bearing rats. Boron 10, as Na/sub 2/B/sub 12/H/sub 11/SH, was injected into the rats. The rat's tumor-bearing foot was then inserted into a head phantom in the epithermal beam to simulate a deep seated brain tumor and irradiated. Six rats were treated in the filtered beam - four without the boron, to test the effect of the background radiation, and two with the entire BNCT treatment. No evidence of radiation effects other than a slight weight loss was found. Despite falling several hundred rads short of the minimum dose required for permanent regression, the tumor dose to the final rat was sufficient to stunt the growth two weeks and reduce the tumor volume by 27%.

• Research Organization: Georgia Inst. of Tech., Atlanta (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5821656
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550603 -- Medicine-- External Radiation in Therapy-- (1980-)
560141 -- Radiation Effects on Plants-- Basic Studies-- (-1987)
560152* -- Radiation Effects on Animals-- Animals
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
BARYONS
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
BODY
BODY AREAS
BORON 10
BORON ISOTOPES
CHROMOSOMAL ABERRATIONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
EPITHERMAL NEUTRONS
EXPERIMENTAL NEOPLASMS
FERMIONS
HADRONS
HEAD
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MEDICINE
MOCKUP
MUTATIONS
NEUTRON CAPTURE THERAPY
NEUTRON THERAPY
NEUTRONS
NUCLEAR MEDICINE
NUCLEI
NUCLEONS
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
PHANTOMS
PLANTS
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIOACTIVATION
RADIOINDUCTION
RADIOLOGY
RADIOTHERAPY
RBE
STABLE ISOTOPES
STRUCTURAL MODELS
THERAPY
TRADESCANTIA