M. Suda

Washout measurement of radioisotope implanted by radioactive beams in the rabbit.

Washout of 10C and 11C implanted by radioactive beams in brain and thigh muscle of rabbits was studied. The biological washout effect in a living body is important in the range verification system or three-dimensional volume imaging in heavy ion therapy. Positron emitter beams were implanted in the rabbit and the annihilation gamma-rays were measured by an in situ positron camera which consisted of a pair of scintillation cameras set on either side of the target. The ROI (region of interest) was set as a two-dimensional position distribution and the time-activity curve of the ROI was measured. Experiments were done under two conditions: live and dead. By comparing the two sets of measurement data, it was deduced that there are at least three components in the washout process. Time-activity curves of both brain and thigh muscle were clearly explained by the three-component model analysis. The three components ratios (and washout half-lives) were 35% (2.0 s), 30% (140 s) and 35% (10 191 s) for brain and 30% (10 s), 19% (195 s) and 52% (3175 s) for thigh muscle. The washout effect must be taken into account for the verification of treatment plans by means of positron camera measurements.

Washout studies of 11C in rabbit thigh muscle implanted by secondary beams of HIMAC

Heavy ion therapy has two definite advantages: good dose localization and higher biological effect. Range calculation of the heavy ions is an important factor in treatment planning. X-ray CT numbers are used to estimate the heavy ion range by looking up values in a conversion table which relates empirically photon attenuation in tissues to particle stopping power; this is one source of uncertainty in the treatment planning. Use of positron emitting radioactive beams along with a positron emission tomograph or a positron camera gives range information and may be used as a means of checking in heavy ion treatment planning. However, the metabolism of the implanted positron emitters in a living object is unpredictable because the chemical forms of these emitters are unknown and the metabolism is dependent on the organ species and may be influenced by many factors such as blood flow rate and fluid components present. In this paper, the washout rate of 11C activity implanted by injecting energetic 11C beams into thigh muscle of a rear leg of a rabbit is presented. The washout was found to consist of two components, the shorter one was about 4.2 +/- 1.1 min and the longer one ranged from 91 to 124 min. About one third of the implanted beta+ activity can be used for imaging and the rest was washed out of the target area.

Spot Scanning Using Radioactive 11C Beams for Heavy-Ion Radiotherapy

A scheme for spot scanning using 11C beams has been developed in order to form and verify a three-dimensionally conformal irradiation field for cancer radiotherapy. By selecting the momentum spread of a 11C beam, we could considerably decrease the distal falloff of the irradiation field, thus conserving the beam quality. To estimate and optimize the dose distribution in the irradiation field, it is essential to evaluate the precise dose distribution of spot beams. The coupling of the lateral dose and depth-dose distributions originating from a wide momentum spread should be taken into account to calculate the dose distribution of 11C beams. The reconstructed dose distribution of the irradiation field was in good agreement with the experimental results, i.e., within ±0.2%. An irradiation field of 35×35×43 mm3 was optimized and spot scanning using 11C beams was carried out. The flatness was within ±2.3% with an error of 1% in the detector resolution.

Application of an RI-beam for cancer therapy: In-vivo verification of the ion-beam range by means of positron imaging

Abstract In cancer treatment with heavy ions, verification of the ion range in the patients body is important. For this purpose, a positron emitter beam provides the possibility of range verification. To use the positron emitter beam, we have constructed a secondary beam course and its irradiation system. In this paper the constructed system is presented together with some results of beam experiments.

Range verification system using positron emitting beams for heavy-ion radiotherapy

It is desirable to reduce range ambiguities in treatment planning for making full use of the major advantage of heavy-ion radiotherapy, that is, good dose localization. A range verification system using positron emitting beams has been developed to verify the ranges in patients directly. The performance of the system was evaluated in beam experiments to confirm the designed properties. It was shown that a 10C beam could be used as a probing beam for range verification when measuring beam properties. Parametric measurements indicated the beam size and the momentum acceptance and the target volume did not influence range verification significantly. It was found that the range could be measured within an analysis uncertainty of +/-0.3 mm under the condition of 2.7 x 10(5) particle irradiation, corresponding to a peak dose of 96 mGyE (gray-equivalent dose), in a 150 mm diameter spherical polymethyl methacrylate phantom which simulated a human head.

Development of target system for intense neutron source of p-Li reaction.

A target cooling system was developed for an intense neutron source of p-Li reaction. The system consists of target cooling devices and protection devices for lithium evaporation. A pin-structure cooling device was developed to enhance cooling power. Functional graded material was utilized for the evaporation of lithium. Test experiments were performed by using the neutron exposure accelerator system for biological effect experiments (NASBEE) at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) in Japan. The target system was confirmed to be applicable for accelerator-based boron neutron capture therapy.

Medical application of radioactive nuclear beams at HIMAC

By using the radioactive nuclear beam with relativistic high energy of short-lived positron emitting nuclei, such as C10 and C11, a verification system for the precise radiotherapy has been developed. It is possible to determine the precise particle range and the three-dimensional irradiated area in the human body by a positron camera detector and a positron emission tomography system, respectively. The biological and chemical process of the metabolism is an important parameter for the precise measurement. The biological lifetimes of the C10 and C11 injected into the rabbit’s organs have been observed for the study of metabolism. The microscopic process around the cell is also of interest in the study of biological effectiveness. The observation of the difference between radiological effectiveness of C9 and that of C12 is in progress.By using the radioactive nuclear beam with relativistic high energy of short-lived positron emitting nuclei, such as C10 and C11, a verification system for the precise radiotherapy has been developed. It is possible to determine the precise particle range and the three-dimensional irradiated area in the human body by a positron camera detector and a positron emission tomography system, respectively. The biological and chemical process of the metabolism is an important parameter for the precise measurement. The biological lifetimes of the C10 and C11 injected into the rabbit’s organs have been observed for the study of metabolism. The microscopic process around the cell is also of interest in the study of biological effectiveness. The observation of the difference between radiological effectiveness of C9 and that of C12 is in progress.

Electric quadrupole moment of 25Na

The electric quadrupole coupling constant eqQ/h of 25Na (Iπ = 5/2+, T1/2 = 59.6 s), implanted in a TiO2 single crystal, has been measured by use of the β-NMR technique, to determine the electric quadrupole moment Q. As a result, |eqQ/h| = (44 ± 16) kHz and |Q(25Na)| = (1.0 ± 0.4) mb were determined. From the NMR on 25Na in NaCl, the magnetic moment was determined as |µ| = (3.6832 ± 0.0003) µN

L Band EPR Tooth Dosimetry for Heavy Ion Irradiation

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) tooth dosimetry is being developed as a device to rapidly assess large populations that were potentially exposed to radiation during a major radiation accident or terrorist event. While most exposures are likely to be due to fallout and therefore involve low linear energy transfer (LET) radiation, there is also a potential for exposures to high LET radiation, for which the effect on teeth has been less well characterized by EPR. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to acquire fundamental response curves for high LET radiation in tooth dosimetry using L band EPR. For this purpose, we exposed human teeth to high energy carbon ions using the heavy ion medical accelerator in Chiba at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences. The primary findings were that EPR signals for carbon ion irradiation were about one-tenth the amplitude of the response to the same dose of 150 kVp X-rays.

Polymer gel dosimetry for neutron beam in the Neutron Exposure Accelerator System for Biological Effect Experiments (NASBEE)

This study aimed to investigate whether gel dosimetry could be used to measure neutron beams. We irradiated a BANG3-type polymer gel dosimeter using neutron beams in the Neutron exposure Accelerator System for Biological Effect Experiments (NASBEE) at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) in Japan. First, the polymer gels were irradiated from 0 to 7.0 Gy to investigate the dose-R2 responses. Irradiated gels were evaluated using 1.5-T magnetic resonance R2 images. Second, the polymer gels were irradiated to 1.0, 3.0, and 5.0 Gy to acquire a depth-R2 response curve. The dose-R2 response curve was linear up to approximately 7 Gy, with a slope of 1.25 Gy−1s−1. Additionally, compared with the photon- irradiated gels, the neutron-irradiated gels had lower R2 values. The acquired depth-R2 curves of the central axis from the 3.0- and 5.0-Gy neutron dose-irradiated gels exhibited an initial build-up. Although, a detailed investigation is needed, polymer gel dosimetry is effective for measuring the dose-related R2 linearity and depth-R2 relationships of neutron beams.