Bionuclear and Radiological Physics
Bionuclear and Radiological Physics
Computer Modeling for Radiation Diagnostic and Cancer Therapy
This is a new research area for Professor Vujic and her research group. Although cancer diagnostics and therapy have advanced greatly in the past several decades, the outcomes are still very poor for a large fraction of cancer types. The number of brest cancers among women in the USA is increasing, and the majority of such cancers are being discovered late in their development. Although the development of new treatments based on the knowledge of the biochemical and cellular mechanisms involved in cancer induction, growth and metastasis, is under way, it is clear that significant improvement in survival rates could be greatly improved if new methods could be developed to significantly improve accuracy of the screening procedures for small tumor masses, and significantly improve modeling of radiation transport and dose distribution for cancer diagnostic and therapy. Better computer modeling of cancer tissue, interaction of radiation with cancer cells, spatial radiation energy deposition, and biological effects of radiation will allow necessary parametric studies to be performed before any experimental use of new techniques for cancer diagnostic and therapy. Prof. Vujic is also involved in research studies for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy for brain tumors. This research is partly supported by the Prytanean Faculty Award and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Highly Compact Fission-Multiplied Accelerator Neutron Source for Medical and Industrial Applications
This 3-year project is supported by the DOE NEER program. It started in July 2003. It is assessing the feasibility of interfacing a novel, highly compact fusion neutron source (CNS) with a compact sub-critical fission assembly (SCFA) to multiply the neutron source intensity. The CNS is based on a coaxial electrostatic accelerator under development at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory by Prof. K.N. Leung. This source is designed to generate up to ~1014 D-T neutrons/sec or ~1012 D-D neutrons/sec. The SCFA is to multiply the fusion neutrons by a factor of ³30. The subcritical assembly will utilize low enriched uranium, will be small (~100 liter) and will be designed to be passively safe. This compact (possibly mobile) accelerator-driven system will provide an intense enough neutron source for medical applications in hospitals – for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) and other neutron therapy applications, for short-lived isotope production, as well as for other applications such as for explosives and contraband detection, research in material science, biology and other areas. The use of the subcritical multiplier will reduce, by an order of magnitude, the amount of electricity and tritium consumed by the CNS. The study includes the design of the SCFA; integration of the CNS with the SCFA; design of a radiation shield for the device; design of beam shaping assembly for BNCT; evaluation of the isotope production capability of the facility; safety and risk analysis with emphasis on the fission system and tritium containment; as well as cost estimate for a hospital or industry based facility. Participating in this work are Professors W.E. Kastenberg and K.N Leung.
