'The measurement of thermal neutron flux depression for determining the concentration of boron in blood'—suggestions as to further development of the method

• Published in: Physics in medicine & biology Vol. 50; no. 20; pp. L21 - L24
• Main Authors: Bolewski, A, Ciechanowski, M, Dydejczyk, A, Kreft, A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England IOP Publishing 21.10.2005
• Subjects: Blood Chemical Analysis - instrumentation; Blood Chemical Analysis - methods; Boron - blood; Boron Neutron Capture Therapy - instrumentation; Boron Neutron Capture Therapy - methods; Equipment Design; Equipment Failure Analysis; Isotopes - blood; Neutrons; Radiometry - instrumentation; Radiometry - methods; Radiotherapy Dosage; Reproducibility of Results; Scattering, Radiation; Sensitivity and Specificity
• ISSN: 0031-9155; 1361-6560
• DOI: 10.1088/0031-9155/50/20/L01

Suggestions about determining the concentration of 10B in blood via the thermal neutron flux depression measurement (NFDM) are made. The use of a measuring set-up consisting of a 252Cf neutron source, polyethylene moderator and a slim BF3 counter surrounded by an annular sample is examined. It is shown experimentally that using 6 ml samples and the source emitting 1.4 x 10(7) neutrons s(-1), one can determine the concentration of 10B in water at the level of 10 ppm with a statistical precision of 10% in about 20 min. Monte Carlo simulations performed with the use of MCNP-4C code revealed a potential for further improvements of the NFDM technique both in respect of the sample volume and counting period.