ACCELERATOR-BASED BORON NEUTRON CAPTURE THERAPY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A DEDICATED TANDEM-ELECTROSTATIC-QUADRUPOLE.

A.J. KREINER; H. DI PAOLO; A.A. BURLON; J.M.KESQUE; A.A. VALDA; M.E. DEBRAY; Y. GIBOUDOT; P. LEVINAS; M. FRAIMAN; V. ROMEO AZNAR; H.R.SOMACAL; D.M. MINSKY

Cuzco

Simposio; VII Latin American Symposium on Nuclear Physics and Applications; 2007

Centro Latinoamericano de Física

There is a generalized perception that the availability of suitable particle accelerators installed in hospitals, as neutron sources, may be crucial for the advancement of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT). An ongoing project to develop a Tandem-ElectroStatic-Quadrupole (TESQ) accelerator for Accelerator-Based (AB)-BNCT is described here. The project goal is a machine capable of delivering 30 mA of 2.5 MeV protons to be used in conjunction with a neutron production target based on the 7Li(p,n)7Be reaction slightly beyond its resonance at 2.25 MeV. A folded tandem, with 1.25 MV terminal voltage, combined with an ESQ chain is being designed and constructed. This machine is conceptually shown to be capable of accelerating a 30 mA proton beam to 2.5 MeV. These are the specifications needed to produce sufficiently intense and clean epithermal neutron beams, based on the 7Li(p,n)7Be reaction, to perform BNCT treatment for deep-seated tumors in less than an hour. This electrostatic machine is the technologically simplest and cheapest solution for optimized AB-BNCT. The first design and construction of an ESQ module is discussed and its electrostatic fields are investigated theoretically and experimentally. Also new beam transport calculations  through the accelerator are presented.