Neutron dose measurement in carbon ion radiation therapy at HIRFL （IMP）

For radiation protection purposes, the neutron dose in carbon ion radiation therapy at the HIRFL （Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou） was investigated. The neutron dose from primary ^12C ions with a specific energy of 100 MeV/u delivered from SSC was roughly measured with a standard Anderson-Broun rem-meter using a polyethylene target at various distances. The result shows that a maximum neutron dose contribution of 19 mSv in a typically surface tumor treatment was obtained, which is less than 1% of the planed heavy ion dose and is in reasonable agreement with other reports. Also the T-ray dose was measured in this experiment using a thermo luminescent detector.     

Study of neutron dose equivalent at the HIRFL deep tumor therapy terminal

The secondary neutron fields at the deep tumor therapy terminal at HIRFL(Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou) were investigated. The distributions of neutron ambient dose equivalent were measured with a FHT762Wendi-II neutron ambient dose equivalent meter as ~(12)C ions with energies of 165, 207, 270, and 350 Me V/u were bombarded on thick tissue-like targets. The thickness of targets used in the experiments was larger than the range of the carbon ions. The neutron spectra and dose equivalent were simulated by using FLUKA code, and the results agree well with the experimental data. The experiment results showed that the neutron dose produced by fragmentation reactions in tissue can be neglected in carbon-ion therapy, even considering their enhanced biological effectiveness.These results are also valuable for radiation protection, especially in the shielding design of high energy heavy ion medical machines.     

重离子加速器示范装置被动式束流配送系统次级中子特征的蒙特卡罗研究

在碳离子放射治疗中,碳离子束在剂量配送过程中会与束流输运线相互作用,形成以中子辐射为主的外辐射场.由于中子是高LET射线,具有较高的相对生物学效应,减少碳离子放疗中产生的次级中子有助于降低放疗后正常组织并发症几率及二次肿瘤风险.利用蒙特卡罗方法对保守情况(能量为400 MeV/u,多叶光栅完全闭合)下碳离子治疗被动式束...     

The measurement using passive dosemeters of the neutron component of aircraft crew dose

The cosmic radiation field at aviation altitudes can be measured with simple passive detectors. The non-neutron component may be measured by means of thermoluminescence dosimetry or other techniques, and the neutron component may be measured using poly allyl diglycol carbonate (PADC) dosemeters as described in this paper. Effective dose from neutron radiation becomes the larger component for altitudes above about 10 km, in general. The dominance is more pronounced for higher latitudes. The neutron energies range up to the maximum of the incident protons, that is many GeV. However the majority of the dose is contributed by neutrons of a few hundred MeV and less, with two maxima in the fluence spectrum, one between 1 and 10 MeV and the other between 50 and 150 MeV. We have used PADC dosemeters, electrochemically etched, to estimate the neutron component of effective dose. Up to 50 dosemeters are used in a single measurement to obtain an estimate of sufficient precision for total neutron effective doses of 50 microSv and less. The neutron fluence response characteristics of the dosemeter have been measured up to 70 MeV. These are extrapolated up to 180 MeV. This extrapolation is validated, partially, by a comparison of measured and predicted readings in the CERN reference field. From the dosemeter readings for exposure on board aircraft, neutron fluence may be estimated assuming an isotropic radiation field and the estimated neutron fluence spectrum. The neutron fluence may then be converted to effective dose using published values of conversion coefficients with the same assumptions of isotropy and known fluence spectrum. For the measurement results reported here, the calculated spectrum for the CERN concrete shielded field is used.     

Radiation exposure at ground level by secondary cosmic radiation

The contribution of the charged component of secondary cosmic radiation to the ambient dose equivalent H*(10) at ground level is investigated using the muon detector MUDOS and a TEPC detector surrounded by the coincidence detector CACS to identify charged particles. The ambient dose equivalent rate H*(10)T as measured with the TEPC/CACS is used to calibrate the MUDOS count rate in terms of H*(10). First results from long-term measurements at the PTB reference site for ambient radiation dosimetry are reported. The air pressure corrected dose rate shows, as expected, a strong correlation with the neutron count rate as measured with the Kiel neutron monitor. The measured seasonal variations exhibit a negative correlation with the temperature changes in the upper layers of the atmosphere where the ground level muons are produced.     

Experimental and theoretical studies for the gain of the neutron irradiated erbium doped fiber amplifier

Erbium doped fiber EDF has been irradiated by a neutron dose up to 200 krad. The Gain of the C-band EDFA has been investigated at different distances from Am-241/Be-9 neutron source. An analytically model based on the classical equation of propagation was developed to perform an accurate prediction of the effects of the radiation on the erbium doped fiber amplifier, EDFA. The EDFA was exposed to a neutron beam emitted from the source for 24 hours at each distance. The gain of EDF deteriorates after being irradiated by a neutron dose. The gain of irradiated EDFA comes down to 14 dB at radiation dose of 200 Gy. The results obtained by the present model and the measured ones are in good agreement.     

Neutron production at the heavy ion research facility in Lanzhou

In this work,the neutron radiation field at Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL) was investigated.Total neutron yields,spectra and angular distributions in the bombardment of various thick targets by 12C and 18O ions with energies up to 75 MeV/u were obtained using the activation method.The neutron dose equivalent rates of 60 MeV/u 18O on various thick targets at different angles were measured with a modified A-B remmeter.Our results are compared with those of other reports.     

Evaluation of neutron radiation field in carbon ion therapy

Carbon ions have significant advantages in tumor therapy because of their physical and biological properties. In view of the radiation protection, the safety of patients is the most important issue in therapy processes.Therefore, the effects of the secondary particles produced by the carbon ions in the tumor therapy should be carefully considered, especially for the neutrons. In the present work, the neutron radiation field induced by carbon ions was evaluated by using the FLUKA code. The simulated results of neutron energy spectra and neutron dose was found to be in good agreement with the experiment data. In addition, energy deposition of carbon ions and neutrons in tissue-like media was studied, it is found that the secondary neutron energy deposition is not expected to exceed 1% of the carbon ion energy deposition in a typical treatment.     

无损检测用15MeV电子直线加速器主束内光中子剂量的测量与MC模拟计算

通过实验和模拟计算研究了无损检测用15MeV电子直线加速器X射线主束内的中子剂量. 加速器采用了铜复合靶和钨加含硼聚乙烯的屏蔽结构, 能够有效地减少光中子的产生, 中子产额在1/1000n/γ以下. 但由于主束内光子剂量很大, 中子的绝对强度也不容忽视. 针对加速器周围强X射线脉冲辐射场的特点, 采用了被 动型的中子剂量测量方法, 加速器正常工作情况下, 使用CR-39片和双电离室测量了等中心处中子对X射线的剂量当量比率, 分别为0.19mSv/Gy X-ray和0.060mSv/Gy X-ray. 利用MCNP5模拟计算了实验相应点的中子对X射线的剂量当量比率, 为0.092mSv/Gy X-ray, 与实验测量结果在数量级上一致. 加速器主射束上D_n/D_γ<1/1000,小于辐射防护标准对中子泄漏剂量的规定值, 从而验证了屏蔽结构的安全性.     

Analysis of the relationship between neutron dose and Cerenkov photons under neutron irradiation through Monte Carlo method

To theoretically explore the feasibility of neutron dose characterized by Cerenkov photons, the relationship between Cerenkov photons and neutron dose in a water phantom was quantified using the Monte Carlo toolkit Geant4. Results showed that the ratio of the neutron dose deposited by secondary electrons above Cerenkov threshold energy to the total neutron dose is approximately a constant for monoenergetic neutrons from 0.01 eV to 100 eV. With the initial neutron beam energy from 0.01 eV to 100 eV, the number of Cerenkov photons has a good correlation with the total neutron dose along the central axis of the water phantom. The changes of neutron energy spectrum and mechanism analysis also explored at different depths. And the ratio of total neutron dose to the intensity of Cerenkov photons is independent of neutron energy for neutrons from 0.01 eV to 100 eV. These findings indicate that Cerenkov radiation also has potential in the application of neutron dose measurement in some specific fields.     

Russian measurements of neutron energy spectra on the Mir orbital station

Results of the experiments on neutron energy spectra measurements within broad energy range from 5 x 10(-7) to 2 x 10(2) MeV aboard the Mir orbital station and equivalent neutron dose estimation are presented. Four measurement techniques were used during the experiments. The shape of spectra and their absolute values are in good agreement. According to those experiments, an equivalent neutron dose depends upon effective shielding thickness and spacecraft mass. The neutron dose mentioned is comparable with that of ionizing radiation. Neutron flux levels measured aboard the Mir station have shown that a neutron spectrometer involving broad energy range will be used within the radiation monitoring systems in manned space flights.     

Neutron production at the heavy ion research facility in Lanzhou

In this work, the neutron radiation field at Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL) was investigated. Total neutron yields, spectra and angular     

Neutron dosimetry in the particle accelerator environment

Radiological safety aspects in general and neutron dosimetry in particular, around medium and high-energy particle accelerators pose some unique challenges to the practitioners of radiation protection. This is mainly because the source of radiations are directional, dynamic, pulsed and a mixture of different types. In conventional dosimetry, measurements are done in the units of the quantities in which the radiological protection limits are expressed. In the accelerator environment, measurement of energy and angular distribution of radiations is preferred instead. Research activities being carried out (particularly in India) in the field of neutron dosimetry are discussed. Measurements of neutron ambient dose equivalent directly using conventional rem-meters as well as neutron energy distributions using the time-of-flight technique employing proton recoil scintillators have been done at different directions with respect to light and heavy ion projectiles incident on various thick elemental targets. The observations and conclusions are summarized. Finally, a discussion on the concept of dose and radiological protection and operational quantities is done along with the recommendation of using Evidence theory instead of Bayesian probability in assessing radiological risk.     

241Am-Be中子参考辐射的蒙特卡罗模拟研究

研究用于校准场所中子剂量监测仪表的241Am-Be中子参考辐射场计量特性。采用蒙特卡罗方法模拟了空气自由中子参考辐射(FRNR),GB/T 14055规定的最小尺寸中子参考辐射(SRNR)和实际中子参考辐射(ARNR)中不同检验点处中子周围剂量当量率、散射中子占比和能谱分布特征。研究结果表明,空气对FRNR中的剂量率和能谱分布影响小,近似为理想中子参考辐射;采用5%含硼聚乙烯作屏蔽的最小尺寸SRNR可减少热中子,降低散射中子占比,影锥法不适用于小尺寸中子参考辐射中对散射中子的修正;ARNR中的散射中子更少、占比更低,影锥法所得散射中子占比与理论值基本一致。     

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.     

The use of recombination chambers at radiation therapy facilities

The paper presents an overview of the applications of recombination chambers for dosimetric measurements at radiotherapy facilities. The chambers were used at electron, proton and heavy ion accelerators, in the beam and in the vicinity of the accelerators at very different dose rates. The examples of measurements discussed in the paper include: the determination of the absorbed dose and radiation quality parameters of a 170 MeV proton beam and BNCT (boron neutron capture therapy) beam, neutron dose measurements at a phantom surface outside the beam of a 15 MV electron medical accelerator, determination of ambient dose equivalent, H1 (10) outside the irradiated phantom in the proton therapy treatment room at JINR (Dubna, Russia), and at working places outside the shielding of the heavy ion therapy facility at GSI (Darmstadt, Germany).     

In-flight radiation measurements on STS-60

A joint investigation between the United States and Russia to study the radiation environment inside the Space Shuttle flight STS-60 was carried out as part of the Shuttle-Mir Science Program (Phase 1). This is the first direct comparison of a number of different dosimetric measurement techniques between the two countries. STS-60 was launched on 3 February 1994 in a nearly circular 57 degrees x 353 km orbit with five U.S. astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut for 8.3 days. A variety of instruments provided crew radiation exposure, absorbed doses at fixed locations, neutron fluence and dose equivalent, linear energy transfer (LET) spectra of trapped and galactic cosmic radiation, and energy spectra and angular distribution of trapped protons. In general, there is good agreement between the U.S. and Russian measurements. The AP8 Min trapped proton model predicts an average of 1.8 times the measured absorbed dose. The average quality factor determined from measured lineal energy, y, spectra using a tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC), is in good agreement with that derived from the high temperature peak in the 6LiF thermoluminescent detectors (TLDs). The radiation exposure in the mid-deck locker from neutrons below 1 MeV was 2.53 +/- 1.33 microSv/day. The absorbed dose rates measured using a tissue equivalent proportional counter, were 171.1 +/- 0.4 and 127.4 +/- 0.4 microGy/day for trapped particles and galactic cosmic rays, respectively. The combined dose rate of 298.5 +/- 0.82 microGy/day is about a factor of 1.4 higher than that measured using TLDs. The westward longitude drift of the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) is estimated to be 0.22 +/- 0.02 degrees/y. We evaluated the effects of spacecraft attitudes on TEPC dose rates due to the highly anisotropic low-earth orbit proton environment. Changes in spacecraft attitude resulted in dose-rate variations by factors of up to 2 at the location of the TEPC.     

The simulated workplace field with a high-energy neutron component produced by irradiating a Fe-target with 200 MeV/u 12C-ions

Recent developments in accelerator physics have led to new challenges for radiation protection dosimetry. Doses have to be determined for workplace fields which are characterized by high-energy radiation, a dominant contribution from neutrons, high intensities and pulsed time structure This may present problems for active measuring devices. As is well known, the ambient dose equivalent is often underestimated by area monitors operating in high-energy neutron fields behind shielding. Therefore, it is desirable to calibrate survey monitors in a characterized neutron field with the type of spectral fluence distribution that is expected behind shielding, i.e. where the main dose from neutrons arises from two peaks with mean energies of about 1 MeV and 100 MeV, respectively. Such a neutron fluence distribution is produced by the irradiation of a Fe-target with 200 MeV/u ¹²C-ions. Measurements with the extended range Bonner sphere spectrometer NEMUS of PTB were performed at two positions inside the experimental area Cave A of the heavy-ion synchrotron SIS at GSI. The measured neutron spectra show different fluence contributions for the two peaks at the two positions. The results were compared to Monte Carlo Simulations with MCNPX and FLUKA.     

HL-1M托卡马克中的中子通量和辐射剂量当量测量

用5台带有慢化剂(聚乙烯)的BF3₃正比计数管中子探测器测量中子通量和剂量当 量.4台 置于HL_1M装置的四周,分别测量了在氘等离子体条件下,因欧姆加热和波加热产生的热核聚 变中子产额、中子通量和剂量,以及氢等离子体条件下因高能x射线引起的光致核反应而产生 的光致中子. 另一台流动于其他6个观察点,主要监测中子剂量当量. 在D_D聚变条件下,实测 中子产额与计算值作比较,两者在数量级上大体一致. 中子辐射剂量当量远低于国家和部颁 标准,更低于国际防护委员会推荐的中子辐射允许剂量当量 关键词： 3正比计数管')" href="#">BF3₃正比计数管 光致中子 氘_氘聚变中子 剂量当量     

快中子辐照对枯草芽孢杆菌DNA损伤研究

采用脉冲场凝胶电泳技术检测并定量分析了CFBR-Ⅱ快中子脉冲堆产生的快中子在不同剂量和剂量率条件下, 对枯草芽孢杆菌黑色变种(ATCC 9372)DNA双链断裂的诱导. 通过DNA释放百分比PR值、DNA断裂水平L值、断裂DNA平均分子量和DNA片段分布等指标的分析, 结果表明：在不同的辐射条件下, DNA片段均明显分布于两个区域, 表明枯草芽孢杆菌黑色变种DNA分子上可能存在对中子辐射较为敏感的位点; 并且随着中子辐射剂量和剂量率的变化, DNA~释放百分比PR值、DNA断裂水平L值和各片段区双链断裂的含量也会发生一定规律性的变化.