Potential application of NIPAM polymer gel for dosimetric purposes in BNCT

3^rd World Congress on Cancer Science & Therapy

October 21-23, 2013 DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel San Francisco Airport, CA, USA

Azim Khajeali, Alireza Farajollahi, Mahdi Rezvanifard, Roghayeh Khodadadi and Noorallah Reisie

Accepted Abstracts: J Cancer Sci Ther

Abstract :

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is based on selective accumulation of 10 B inside the tumor cells with subsequent irradiation of tumor using neutron beam. In general, total dose from BNCT can be attributed to four components: the gamma dose, epithermal and fast neutrons dose, the dose from thermal neutron capture in 14 N and 10 B. The principal method recommended for determining fast and epithermal neutron and gamma dose is dual ionization chamber technique and the dose contribution from thermal neutron capture is calculated from measured thermal neutron flux by applying foil activation technique. Although these methods are commonly used to clinical dosimetry of BNCT but they have some disadvantage such as: 1) dosimetric process is very time-consuming. 2) The thermal neutron doses are not measured directly. 3) require two different dosimetric methods to detect various radiation types and total dose calculation. 4) Ionization chambers need several correction factors. To overcome these limitations, a more efficient and reliable dosimeter is needed. Since the polymer gel dosimeters are normally tissue equivalent and are able to record dose information in three-dimensions with sufficient spatial accuracy, therefore could be a suitable option for dosimetric purposes in BNCT. The study is currently in progress to explore the applicability of NIPAM gel in BNCT. Keywords: BNCT, NIPAM, Polymer gel.