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Design and Calibration of a "Broad-Beam" ²³⁸Pu, Be Neutron Source for Total-Body Neutron Activation Analysis

Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York

Correspondence: For reprints contact: Stanton H. Cohn, Medical Research Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Associated Universities, Inc., Upton, N.Y. 11973.

ABSTRACT

A neutron irradiation facility designed for performing total-body neutron activation analysis (TBNAA) for clinical research is described. Fourteen 50-Ci encapsulated sources of ²³⁸Pu,Be that may be positioned above and below the midline of the subject provide a fairly uniform broad-beam source of neutrons. Absolute levels of total-body Ca, Na, and Cl, and relative levels of P are determined in subjects exposed bilaterally to the neutron flux (average energy, about 5 MeV), for 5 min. The induced ⁴⁹Ca, ²⁴Na, ³⁸Cl, and ²⁸Al (from P) are measured with a whole-body counter designed with a response invariant with respect to counting geometry and attenuation. This in vivo activation technique provides an accuracy and precision of ±1%, as determined by studies with a phantom.

The ²³⁸Pu,Be neutron source offers a number of advantages in TBNAA over the previously used 14-MeV neutrons obtained from a neutron generator. The maximum total dose received by a patient is 277 mrem, or 45% of the minimum dose previously required for activation. The reduction in absorbed dose results primarily from reduced tissue dose per incident neutron and increased efficiency for generating thermal neutrons. The reduced dose together with an inherent simplicity in obtaining a uniform neutron flux from the Pu,Be sources, makes the new technique very desirable for TBNAA analysis in medical diagnosis and research.

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