Performance evaluation of a 71Ga(n,γ)72Ga reaction-based epithermal neutron flux detector at an AB-BNCT device.

The 71Ga(n,γ)72Ga reaction-based epithermal neutron flux detectors are novel instruments developed to measure the epithermal neutron flux of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) treatment beams. In this study, a spherical epithermal neutron flux detector using 71Ga(n,γ)72Ga reaction was prototyped. The performance of the detector was experimentally evaluated at an accelerator-based BNCT (AB-BNCT) device developed by Lanzhou University, China. Based on the experimental results and related analysis, we demonstrated that the detector is a reliable tool for the quality assurance of BNCT treatment beams.

A physically constrained Monte Carlo-Neural Network coupling algorithm for BNCT dose calculation.

BACKGROUND: In boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT)-a form of binary radiotherapy-the primary challenge in treatment planning systems for dose calculations arises from the time-consuming nature of the Monte Carlo (MC) method. Recent progress, including the use of neural networks (NN), has been made to accelerate BNCT dose calculations. However, this approach may result in significant dose errors in both the tumor and the skin, with the latter being a critical organ in BNCT. Furthermore, owing to the lack of physical processes in purely NN-based approaches, their reliability for clinical dose calculations in BNCT is questionable. PURPOSE: In this study, a physically constrained MC-NN (PCMC-NN) coupling algorithm is proposed to achieve fast and accurate computation of the BNCT three-dimensional (3D) therapeutic dose distribution. This approach synergizes the high precision of the MC method with the speed of the NN and utilizes physical conservation laws to constrain the coupling process. It addresses the time-consuming issue of the traditional MC method while reducing dose errors. METHODS: Clinical data were collected from 113 glioblastoma patients. For each patient, the 3D dose distributions for both the coarse and detailed dose grids were calculated using the MC code PHITS. Among these patients, the data from 14 patients were allocated to the test set, 9 to the validation set, and the remaining to the training set. A neural network, 3D-Unet, was built based on the coarse grid dose and patient CT information to enable fast and accurate computation of the 3D detailed grid dose distribution of BNCT. RESULTS: Statistical evaluations, including relative deviation, dose deviation, mean absolute error (MAE), and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) were conducted. Our findings suggested that the PCMC-NN algorithm substantially outperformed the traditional NN and interpolation methods. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm significantly reduced errors, particularly in the skin and GTV, and improved computational accuracy (hereinafter referred to simply as 'accuracy') with a MAPE range of 1.6%-4.0% and a maximum MAE of 0.3 Gy (IsoE) for different organs. The dose-volume histograms generated by the PCMC-NN aligned well with those obtained from the MC method, further validating its accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: The PCMC-NN algorithm enhanced the speed and accuracy of BNCT dose calculations by combining the MC method with the NN algorithm. This indicates the significant potential of the proposed algorithm for clinical applications in optimizing treatment planning.

Design and performance of an epithermal neutron flux detector using 55Mn(n,γ)56Mn reaction for BNCT.

The measurement of the epithermal neutron (0.5 eV - 10 keV) flux of a boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) treatment beam is a critical issue to its quality assessment and evaluation of the radiation dose to the treated patients. In this work, an activation detector using 55Mn(n,γ)56Mn reaction is designed by Monte Carlo simulations to measure the epithermal neutron flux of BNCT treatment beam. The detector is spherical and it has an absorber/moderator/absorber/manganese (Mn) foil arrangement from outside to inside. The activation material, i.e., Mn foil, is located at the geometrical center of the detector. After the design, the performance of the detector is evaluated by Monte Carlo simulations using the treatment neutron beams of operating reactor-based BNCT facilities. The results and related analysis indicate that the proposed detector will be efficiently applicable in the quality assessment of BNCT treatment beam and evaluation of the radiation dose to the treated patients.

Development of epi-thermal neutron beam intensity detector with 71Ga(n,γ)72Ga reaction for boron neutron capture therapy.

Based on the activation method using 71Ga(n,γ)72Ga reaction, a cubic neutron flux intensity detector for epi-thermal neutrons was designed for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), and experimentally tested with a prototype detector in a neutron field produced at OKTAVIAN facility of Osaka University, Japan. The experimental test results and related analysis indicated that the performance of the detector was confirmed to be acceptable in the neutron field of BNCT. Practically, the neutron flux intensity mainly covering from 0.5 eV to 10 keV can be measured within 3% by the present detector.

Performance testing of the neutron flux monitors from 10keV to 1MeV developed for BNCT: A preliminary study.

The neutron flux monitors from 10keV to 1MeV designed for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) were experimentally tested with prototype monitors in an appropriate neutron field produced at the intense deuterium-tritium neutron source facility OKTAVIAN of Osaka University, Japan. The experimental test results and related analysis indicated that the performance of the monitors was good and the neutron fluxes from 10keV to 1MeV of practical BNCT neutron sources can be measured within 10% by the monitors.

Experimental study on the performance of an epithermal neutron flux monitor for BNCT.

The performance of an epithermal neutron (0.5eV