Journal of Biomedical Physics and Engineering

A Monte Carlo Study on the Effect of Various Neutron Capturers on Dose Distribution in Brachytherapy with 252Cf Source

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

M M Firoozabadi 1
Gh Izadi Vasafi 1
K Karimi-sh 1
M Ghorbani 2

1 Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran

2 Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics Department, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Abstract
Background: In neutron interaction with matter and reduction of neutron energy due to multiple scatterings to the thermal energy range, increasing the probability of thermal neutron capture by neutron captures makes dose enhancement in the tumors loaded with these materials.
Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate dose distribution in the presence of 10B, 157Gd and 33S neutron capturers and to determine the effect of these materials on dose enhancement rate for 252Cf brachytherapy source.
Methods: Neutron-ray flux and energy spectra, neutron and gamma dose rates and dose enhancement factor (DEF) are determined in the absence and presence of 10B, 157Gd and 33S using Monte Carlo simulation.
Results: The difference in the thermal neutron flux rate in the presence of 10B and 157Gd is significant, while the flux changes in the fast and epithermal energy ranges are insensible. The dose enhancement factor has increased with increasing distance from the source and reached its maximum amount equal to 258.3 and 476.1 cGy/h/µg for 157Gd and 10B, respectively at about 8 cm distance from the source center. DEF for 33S is equal to one.
Conclusion: Results show that the magnitude of dose augmentation in tumors containing 10B and 157Gd in brachytherapy with 252Cf source will depend not only on the capture product dose level, but also on the tumor distance from the source. 33S makes dose enhancement under specific conditions that these conditions depend on the neutron energy spectra of source, the 33S concentration in tumor and tumor distance from the source.

Keywords

Brachytherapy
Neutron Capture
Dose
MCNP
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Journal of Biomedical Physics and Engineering
Volume 7, Issue 1 - Serial Number 1
23
March and April 2017
Pages 13-20

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