Presentation Information
[3F08]Improvement of thermal neutron fields for BNCT fundamental research at cyclotron neutron sources
*Aimi Ueki1, Takushi Takata1, Naonori Hu1,2, Nishiki Matsubayashi1, Hiroki Tanaka1 (1. Kyoto Univ., 2. OMPU)
Keywords:
BNCT,Cyclotron epithermal neutron source,Thermal neutron irradiation field,Improvement of moderator
Kyoto University institute for integrated Radiation and Nuclear Science (KURNS) has conducted fundamental BNCT research using the KUR heavy water neutron irradiation facility. However, with the KUR reactor scheduled to cease operations in May 2026, establishing an alternative neutron source has become an urgent priority. KURNS has successfully applied the cyclotron-based epithermal neutron source C-BENS for clinical purposes and plans to utilise it for fundamental research. While C-BENS generates epithermal neutrons specifically for human irradiation, efficient thermal neutron irradiation is required for BNCT fundamental research targeting cells and mice. This study introduced moderators into the C-BENS irradiation port to form a thermal neutron field, optimising the irradiation field for cells and mice irradiation. As a result, for cell irradiation, a thermal neutron flux equivalent to KUR's 1 MW operation was achieved. For mouse irradiation, although the intensity was approximately half that, it was confirmed to be sufficiently feasible for basic research.