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Experimental determination of the thermal neutron flux around two different types of high intensity 252 Cf sources
Author(s) -
Schmidt R.,
Maughan R. L.,
Yudelev M.,
Kota C.,
Wanwilairat S.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.598471
Subject(s) - neutron temperature , neutron , neutron capture , radiochemistry , ionization chamber , neutron source , dosimetry , nuclear medicine , materials science , ionization , medical physics , nuclear engineering , medicine , nuclear physics , physics , chemistry , ion , quantum mechanics , engineering
The application of neutron emitting radioisotopes in brachytherapy facilitates the use of the higher biological effectiveness of neutrons compared to photons in treating some cancers. Different types of high intensity252 Cf sources are in use for the treatment of different cancers. To improve the therapy of bulky tumors the dose can be augmented by the additional use of the boron capture reaction of thermal neutrons. This requires information about the thermal neutron dose component around the Cf source. In this work, a Mg/Ar‐ionization chamber internally coated with10 B was used to measure the thermal neutrons. These measurements were performed on two different252 Cf sources, one in use in the Gershenson Radiation Oncology Center at Harper Hospital in Detroit, MI, and one at the University Hospital of Chiang Mai in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The results of these measurements are compared and indicate that the differences in the construction of the sources influence the thermal dose component.