Experimental study on Compton camera for boron neutron capture therapy applications
Makoto Sakai, Shingo Tamaki, Isao Murata, Raj Kumar Parajuli, Akira Matsumura, Nobuteru Kubo, Mutsumi Tashiro
Abstract
Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a high-dose-intensive radiation therapy that has gained popularity due to advancements in accelerator neutron sources. To determine the dose for BNCT, it is necessary to know the difficult-to-determine boron concentration and neutron fluence. To estimate this dose, we propose a method of measuring the prompt γ-rays (PGs) from the boron neutron capture reaction (BNCR) using a Compton camera. We performed a fundamental experiment to verify basic imaging performance and the ability to discern the PGs from 511 keV annihilation γ-rays. A Si/CdTe Compton camera was used to image the BNCR and showed an energy peak of 478 keV PGs, separate from the annihilation γ-ray peak. The Compton camera could visualize the boron target with low neutron intensity and high boron concentration. This study experimentally confirms the ability of Si/CdTe Compton cameras to image BNCRs.