The Effect of Proton and Helium Ions on Secondary Neutron Production in the Slab Head Phantom

Abstract

Particle therapy (PT) usually uses protons and carbon ions. In addition, the use of low-Z ions (such as He, O, Ne) with higher relative biological effects than protons is also being investigated. Although in PT the majority of the dose is delivered to the tumor volume by the primary particle, a negligible additional dose is left due to the contribution of secondary particles produced by the interaction between the therapeutic beam and the patient's tissues. In particular, neutrons can increase the risk of secondary cancer by transferring energy far away from the treated area. To use charged particles in radiation therapy, it is crucial to characterize secondary neutrons produced (SNP) as a result of primary particle interactions with human tissue. The SNP can be detected with the detector or by methods such as Monte Carlo (MC) simulation. In our study, the total number of neutrons produced in the slab head phantom by proton and He ion beams with an energy of 50-100 MeV/u, the doses stored by neutrons and all other particles were calculated with the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport Code System (PHITS) MC code. The number of SNP by He ion beam increased 7-14 times compared to proton beams. It was calculated that the doses of the SNP by protons were between 11.5% - 16.4% of those in the He ion beams.

Keywords

• Particle therapy
• Secondary neutron
• Monte carlo

Baş Plaka Fantomunda Proton ve Helyum İyonlarının İkincil Nötron Üretimine Etkisi

Abstract

Parçacık tedavisinde (PT) genellikle protonlar ve karbon iyonları kullanılır. Fakat protona göre bağıl biyolojik etkileri daha yüksek olan düşük Z’li iyonların (He, O, Ne gibi) kullanımı da araştırılmaktadır. PT’de dozun büyük kısmı, birincil parçacık tarafından tümör hacmine verilmesine rağmen, terapötik ışın ile hastanın dokuları arasındaki etkileşim tarafından üretilen ikincil parçacıkların katkısı nedeniyle ihmal edilemeyecek miktarda ek doz bırakılır. Özellikle nötronlar, tedavi edilen alandan çok uzağa enerji aktararak ikincil kanser riskini artırabilmektedir. Radyasyon tedavisinde yüklü parçacıkları kullanmak için insan dokusuyla birincil parçacık etkileşimleri sonucunda üretilen ikincil nötronları karakterize etmek çok önemlidir. Üretilen ikincil nötronlar detektör veya Monte Carlo (MC) benzetimi gibi yöntemlerle belirlenebilmektedir. Çalışmamızda 50-100 MeV/u enerjili proton ve He iyon ışınları tarafından baş plaka fantomunda üretilen toplam nötron sayıları, nötronlar ve tüm parçacıklar tarafından depolanan dozlar Particle and Heavy Ion Transport Code System (PHITS) MC kodu ile hesaplanmıştır. He iyon demeti tarafından üretilen ikincil nötron sayısı, proton demetlerine kıyasla 7-14 kat arttı. Protonlar tarafından üretilen ikincil nötron dozlarının He iyon demetlerindeki dozların %11.5 - %16.4’ü arasında olduğu hesaplandı.

Keywords

• Parçacık tedavisi
• İkincil nötron
• Monte carlo
• PHITS

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