Study on the optimization of an ambient dose detector in an accelerator-based BNCT irradiation field

Abstract Accelerator-based boron neutron capture therapy (AB-BNCT) systems that utilize various neutron production methods have been developed in recent years. As the AB-BNCT system is a novel radiation production system, accurately measuring the neutron ambient dose is crucial for evaluating its performance and ensuring its safety. In this study, we designed a neutron detector system capable of measuring the neutron ambient dose H* in a cyclotron-based epithermal neutron source irradiation field using the particle and heavy ion transport code system 3.34 Monte Carlo simulation code. This neutron detector system comprises slow and fast neutron detectors, which are sensitive to energy ranges of 10 −9 –10 −2 MeV and 10 −2 –28 MeV, respectively. The response function of this neutron detector system exhibited satisfactory agreement with the conversion coefficients h* , and the dose measurement accuracy was within 6.5%.