Neutron dosimetry by means of electron spin resonance (ESR) tecnique

Abstract

Along with the Neutron Capture Therapy (NCT) development and with the use of thermal neutrons for radiotherapeutic purposes, many efforts have been devoted to the beam characterization in order to optimize the therapy procedures. Reliable dosimetric measurements should be able to determine the various components (neutronic and photonic) of the mixed beam usually employed for therapy. We have studied the effect of the additive such as gadolinium and 10B-boric acid on the neutron sensitivity of alanine ESR dosimeters exposed to a gamma and mixed (n, gamma) field mainly composed by thermal neutrons. We have chosen both this additive nuclei because of their very high capture cross section to thermal neutrons. Furthermore, in the nuclear reaction with thermal neutrons particle, which in turn release their energy in the neighbourhood of the reaction site, are ejected. We completed our study through a Monte Carlo simulation aimed at obtaining information about the reliability of this powerful tool in predicting the response enhancement achievable with the addition of gadolinium and 10B-boric acid in alanine dosimeters. These computational values obtained through simulation are compared with the experimental results.