Neutronics design of a medical therapy reactor

Conference · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:6941892

Neuman, W A; Parsons, D K; Lake, J A

The development of a Medical Therapy Reactor (MTR) facility for the treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme and other presently incurable cancer types is underway at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). This paper addresses the feasibility of utilizing existing reactor technologies to deliver therapeutic doses of epithermal neutrons with minimal fast neutron and gamma contaminants. The two primary fuel candidates are a 10 wt% U-235 enriched UO/sub 2/ fuel and 45 wt% uranium in UZrH, 20 wt% U-235 enriched hydride fuel. Both candidates can produce a 10/sup 14/ n/m/sup 2/-s epithermal neutron flux at the patient end of a neutron filter with power levels below 10 MW/sub th/. This flux level results in a patient treatment period of about 10 minutes. The fast neutron and gamma contaminates of the beam during the treatment period are <2 Gy and <0.5 Gy, respectively. The facility configuration permits simultaneous treatment of multiple patients. With the expected operation schedule of approximately 2000 treatment periods per beam port per year, the reactor core lifetime is the same as the facility lifetime of 30 years and no refueling is necessary.

• Research Organization: EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-76ID01570
• OSTI ID: 6941892
• Report Number(s): EGG-M-88286; CONF-880911-16; ON: DE88015179
• Resource Relation: Conference: International reactor physics conference, Jackson Hole, WY, USA, 18 Sep 1988; Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
MTR REACTOR
NEUTRON THERAPY
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
C CODES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
D CODES
FUEL ELEMENTS
NEUTRON FLUX
NUCLEAR MEDICINE
REACTOR CORES
T CODES
URANIUM 235
URANIUM DIOXIDE
URANIUM HYDRIDES
ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
CHALCOGENIDES
COMPUTER CODES
ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
HEAVY NUCLEI
HYDRIDES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
IRRADIATION REACTORS
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
MATERIALS TESTING REACTORS
MEDICINE
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
NUCLEI
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIATION FLUX
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIOLOGY
RADIOTHERAPY
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTORS
TANK TYPE REACTORS
THERAPY
THERMAL REACTORS
URANIUM COMPOUNDS
URANIUM ISOTOPES
URANIUM OXIDES
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
220600* - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Research
Test &amp; Experimental Reactors
550602 - Medicine- External Radiation in Diagnostics- (1980-)