A Tandem-ESQ for Accelerator-Based Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (AB-BNCT)

A.J. KREINER; J. KWAN; A.A. BURLON; H. DI PAOLO; E. HENESTROZA; D. MINSKY; A. VALDA; M. DEBRAY; H. SOMACAL

NUCLEAR INSTRUMENTS AND METHODS IN PHYSICS RESEARCH B - BEAM INTERACTIONS WITH MATERIALS AND ATOMS

Elsevier

Lugar: Amsterdam, Holanda; Año: 2007 vol. 261 p. 751 - 754

0168-583X

A project to develop a Tandem-electrostatic-quadrupole (TESQ) accelerator for accelerator-based boron neutron capture therapy(AB-BNCT) is described. A folded Tandem, with 1.25 MV terminal voltage, combined with an electrostatic quadrupole (ESQ) chainis being proposed. The project goal is a machine capable of delivering 30 mA of 2.5 MeV protons to be used in conjunction with a neutronproduction target based on the 7Li(p, n)7Be reaction slightly beyond its resonance at 2.25 MeV. This machine is conceptually shownto be capable of accelerating a 30 mA proton beam to 2.5 MeV. These are the specifications needed to produce sufficiently intense andclean epithermal neutron beams, based on the 7Li(p, n)7Be reaction, to perform BNCT treatment for deep-seated tumors in less than anhour. This electrostatic machine is the technologically simplest and cheapest solution for optimized AB-BNCT.