Development of a real-time boron imaging method for BNCT using CdTe-DSD at the JRR-3

Chiu, I.-H.; Osawa, Takahito  ; Sumita, Takehiro*   ; Ikeda, Mizuha*; Ninomiya, Kazuhiko*; Takeda, Shinichiro*; Minami, Takahiro*; Takahashi, Tadayuki*; Watanabe, Shin*

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a neutron-based cancer treatment requiring a real-time B dose monitor to optimize effectiveness. We report the use of a cadmium telluride double-sided strip detector (CdTe-DSD), which has a full width at half maximum energy resolution of 7.3 keV at 511 keV and a spatial resolution of 250 m for accurate boron imaging. Using the CdTe-DSD with a pinhole collimator, our experiment at Japan Research Reactor No. 3 (JRR-3) evaluated the B distribution in a solid sample containing a 0.3 mg B concentration during neutron exposure. Although measurement of the B signal was significantly affected by background gamma rays from 113 Cd, we successfully obtained a circular projection image with a diameter of 11.5 mm, revealing the precise location of B, with a counting rate of 0.115 cps and a signal-to-noise ratio of approximately 25.7 %. The results demonstrate the capability of the CdTe-DSD to enhance BNCT by providing high-fidelity insights into the B distribution within the sample.