NUKLEONIKA 2004, 49(2):51-56

IMPROVED DOSIMETRY FOR BNCT BY ACTIVATION FOILS, MODIFIED THERMOLUMINESCENT DETECTORS AND RECOMBINATION CHAMBERS

Paweł Bilski1, Natalia Golnik2, Paweł Olko1, Krzysztof Pytel2, Grzegorz Tracz1, Piotr Tulik3, Mieczysław Zielczyński2

1 The Henryk Niewodniczański Institute of Nuclear Physics, 152 Radzikowskiego Str., 31-342 Kraków, Poland
2 Institute of Atomic Energy, 05-400 Otwock-Świerk, Poland
3 Institute of Precision and Biomedical Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, 8 Saint A. Boboli Str., 02-525 Warsaw, Poland

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is an experimental therapy of selected tumours, based on a nuclear reaction initiated by the capture of thermal neutron by the 10B nucleus. After 10B had been delivered selectively to tumour cells, it can be activated by neutrons to deliver locally lethal high-LET radiation. BNCT beams are complex mixed radiation fields, because of broad neutron energy range, presence of gamma contamination and necessity of precise determination of several dose components.
The paper presents some results of the research project on BNCT dosimetry with activation foils, recombination chambers and TL detectors.