Design of a medical reactor generating high quality neutron beams for boron neutron capture therapy

Abstract

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a binary treatment modality that can selectively irradiate tumor tissue. BNCT uses drugs containing a stable isotope of boron, B-10, that are capable of preferentially accumulating in the tumor, which is then irradiated with thermal neutrons. The interaction of the B-10 with a thermal neutron causes the B-10 nucleus to split, releasing an alpha particle and a lithium nucleus. These products of the boron neutron capture reaction are very damaging to cells but have a path length in tissue of approximately 14 micrometers, or roughly the diameter of one or two cells. Thus, most of the ionizing energy imparted to tissue is localized to B-10-loaded cells. Since the early 1980s, there have been considerable improvements in boron compounds and neutron beams. More is known now about the radiation biology of BNCT, which has reemerged as a potentially useful method for preferential irradiation of tumors. Clinical trials have been initiated at BNL and MIT, with an improved boron compound and epithermal neutrons. At this time, nuclear reactors are the only demonstrated satisfactory sources of epithermal neutrons. While some reactors are available and within reach of cancer treatment centers, a question arises as to the feasibility and practicality of placing new epithermal neutron sources in hospitals. In this thesis, we design a square reactor (that can easily be reconfigured into polygonal reactors as the need arises) with four slab type assemblies to produce two epithermal neutron beams and two thermal neutron beams for use in neutron capture therapy. This square reactor with four large-area faces consists of 1056 $U_3Si-Al$ fuel elements and 36 $B_4C$ control rods. The proposed facility, based on this square reactor core with a maximum operating power of 300kW, provides an epithermal neutron beam of $3.2 \times 10^9 n_{epi}/cm^2 \cdot s}$ intensity with low contamination by fast neutrons ($＜1.6 \times 10^{-13} Gy \cdot...