The doses and spectra of photoneutrons produced in a medical linear accelerator with photon energies of 10 and 15 MV were evaluated. The Monte Carlo code, MCNPX, was used to simulate the transport of these photoneutrons around the head for 10 and 15 MV photons. The fully-described geometry of the accelerator head was used in this calculation. The photoneutron energy spectra and doses for various photon field sizes were calculated at each of 20 positions. The results indicate that the maximum dose equivalents are observed in 20 x 20 cm(2) case among photon fields. It was found the neutron average energy at isocenter for a 0 x 0 cm(2) field is 0.38 MeV for 10 MV and is 0.45 MeV for 15 MV. The neutron doses at 10 positions around the head in the treatment room of the operation facility at 10 and 15 MV were measured using the bubble detectors. Measurements were compared with the calculations under the same geometry in the experiment. It was found that the majority of the calculated results agreed to within the standard deviations of the measurements. These above results can be applied in the verification of maximum allowed neutron leakage percentage of treatment dose defined in the IEC. We have been employing them to derive the empirical formula for neutron dose equivalent level at the maze entrance of medical accelerator treatment rooms in a study that is still underway.
The design of radiation shielding was evaluated for a proton therapy facility being established at the National Cancer Center in Korea. The proton beam energy from a 230 MeV cyclotron is varied for therapy using a graphite target. This energy variation process produces high radiation and thus thick shielding walls surround the region. The evaluation was first carried out using analytical expressions at selected locations. Further detailed evaluations have been performed using the Monte Carlo method. Dose equivalent values were calculated to be compared with analytical results. The analytical method generally yielded more conservative values. With consideration of adequate occupancy factors annual dose equivalent rates are kept <1 mSv y(-1) in all areas. Construction of the building is expected to be completed near the end of 2004 and the installation of therapy equipment will begin a few months later.
An easily applicable empirical formula was derived for use in the assessment of the photoneutron dose at the maze entrance of a 15 MV medical accelerator treatment room. The neutron dose equivalent rates around the Varian medical accelerator head calculated with the Monte Carlo code MCNPX were used as the source term in producing the base data. The dose equivalents were validated by measurements with bubble detectors. Irradiation geometry conditions expected to yield higher neutron dose rates in the maze were selected: a 20 x 20 cm2 irradiation field, gantry rotation plane parallel to the maze walls, and the photon beams directed to the opposite wall to the maze entrance. The neutron dose equivalents at the maze entrance were computed for 697 arbitrary single-bend maze configurations by extending the Monte Carlo calculations down to the maze entrance. Then, the empirical formula was derived by a multiple regression fit to the neutron dose equivalents at the maze entrance for all the different maze configurations. The goodness of the empirical formula was evaluated by applying it to seven operating medical accelerators of different makes. When the source terms were fixed, the neutron doses estimated from the authors' formula agreed better with the corresponding MCNPX simulations than the results of the Kersey method. In addition, compared with the Wu-McGinley formula, the authors' formula provided better estimates for the mazes with length longer than 8.5 m. There are, however, discrepancies between the measured dose rates and the estimated values from the authors' formula, particularly for the machines other than a Varian model. Further efforts are needed to characterize the neutron field at the maze entrance to reduce the discrepancies. Furthermore, neutron source terms for the machines other than a Varian model should be simulated or measured and incorporated into the formula for accurate extended application to a variety of models.
Background: Radiation portal monitors (RPMs) involving plastic scintillators installed at the border inspection sites can detect illicit trafficking of radioactive sources in cargo containers within seconds. However, RPMs may generate false alarms because of the naturally occurring radioactive materials. To manage these false alarms, we previously suggested an energy-weighted algorithm that emphasizes the Compton-edge area as an outstanding peak. This study intends to evaluate the identification of radioactive sources using an improved energy-weighted algorithm. Materials and Methods: The algorithm was modified by increasing the energy weighting factor, and different peak combinations of the energy-weighted spectra were tested for source identification. A commercialized RPM system was used to measure the energy-weighted spectra. The RPM comprised two large plastic scintillators with dimensions of 174 × 29 × 7 cm 3 facing each other at a distance of 4.6 m. In addition, the in-house-fabricated signal processing boards were connected to collect the signal converted into a spectrum. Further, the spectra from eight radioactive sources, including special nuclear materials (SNMs), which were set in motion using a linear motion system (LMS) and a cargo truck, were estimated to identify the source identification rate. Results and Discussion: Each energy-weighted spectrum exhibited a specific peak location, although high statistical fluctuation errors could be observed in the spectrum with the increasing source speed. In particular, 137 Cs and 60 Co in motion were identified completely (100%) at speeds of 5 and 10 km/hr. Further, SNMs, which trigger the RPM alarm, were identified approximately 80% of the time at both the aforementioned speeds. Conclusion: Using the modified energy-weighted algorithm, several characteristics of the energy weighted spectra could be observed when the used sources were in motion and when the geometric efficiency was low. In particular, the discrimination between 60 Co and 40 K, which triggers false alarms at the primary inspection sites, can be improved using the proposed algorithm.
The neutrons, which are mainly induced from a beam modulator and two beam flattening scatters bombarded by high energetic protons inside the gantry of the proton therapy unit of the National Cancer Center (NCC) of Korea, were measured by using the Bonner Sphere (BS) of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI). Protons were accelerated to 218 MeV using a cyclotron and guided to a gantry for modulating of the beam size and energy. The modulated proton beam irradiated the surface of a water phantom to simulate a condition of a proton therapy. Neutron spectral measurements were performed at two proton therapy rooms with a rotational and a fixed gantry respectively for different beam directions of the proton beam. The fluence average energies were 3.14 and 2.92 MeV at the two measuring positions respectively and there was a significant fraction of low energy neutrons under 0.5 eV. Dose equivalent rates were consistent to within 10% with the survey data measured by a neutron remmeter. Two kinds of neutron spectra were prepared to unfold the BS measurement data and the difference in the unfolding result for the two cases was not big for some dosimetric data.
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