Measurement of the energy spectrum of secondary neutrons in a proton therapy environment

Abstract

Measurement of the energy spectrum of secondary neutrons were carried out at the OncoRay Proton Therapy facility in Dresden, following an approach originating in neutron metrology which is well suited for both the characterization of secondary neutron fields at proton therapy facilities and the validation of Monte Carlo simulations. For the experiment, a brass target was placed in the proton beam and Bonner spheres measurements were made at a distance of 2 m from the target and at different angles, 15° to 120°, with respect to the incoming proton beam. The measured spectra were compared to Monte Carlo simulations.

Keywords

• proton therapy
• secondary neutrons
• neutron spectrometry
• bonner spheres