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M Awschalom

Publications and source records attributed to M Awschalom.

36 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Physical characterization of neutron beams produced by protons and deuterons of various energies bombarding beryllium and lithium targets of several thicknesses.

Protons of 35 and 65 MeV and deuterons of 35 MeV were used to bombard beryllium and lithium targets of various thicknesses. Four types of experiments were conducted in order to characterize the neutron fields. They were (1) central axis depth-dose measurements in a water phantom, (2) dose buildup at small depths in tissue-equivalent plastic, (3) microdosimetric measurements and LET distributions, and (4) neutron yields and energy spectra at an angle of 0 deg. The results generally show that (a) the central axis depth doses for the 35 and 65 MeV particles roughly approximate those of 60Co and 4-MeV bremsstrahlung photons, respectively, (B) the neutron dose buildups are more rapid than those of the above-mentioned photon sources, (C) the microdosimetric spectra show differences which are consistent with the measured neutron energy spectra, and (D) P-Li compared to p-Be neutron spectra have larger high-energy particle flux for similar target and beam configurations.

Beryllium↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The influence of target thickness and backstop material on proton-produced neutron beams for radiotherapy.

Results are presented of measurements of skin sparing, penetration and total dose per unit of incident charge for various target thicknesses and filtrations for a neutron beam generated by 42 MeV protons on beryllium. These results are contrasted to predictions outlined in a previous paper. The differences from these predictions are attributed to the contribution of low-energy neutrons produced by the residual proton beam in the thick copper target backstop.

Activation Analysis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Calorimetric and ionimetric dosimetry intercomparisons I: U.S. neutron radiotherapy centers.

In the U.S. neutron radiotherapy trial centers, absorbed dose is routinely measured using commercially available A-150 tissue equivalent (TE) plastic ionization chambers. The collecting volumes of these chambers are filled with either methane-based tissue equivalent gas or air. Absorbed dose in A-150 plastic, determined with these ionization chambers, was compared to that measured by an A-150 plastic calorimeter in an A-150 plastic phantom. These comparisons have yielded the following information: (1) Agreement of the total absorbed dose measured using the ionization chambers was within 2.5% of the calorimeter at all the centers visited to date. (2) For all the neutron fields measured, the product of the stopping power ratio (sw,g)N' between the A-150 plastic chamber wall and TE gas, and the average energy expended in the gas per ion pair formed, WN/e, was computed assuming Bragg-Gray theory and found to be 31.0 +/- 0.7 J/C. (3) The displacement correction factor employed to normalize measurements at a depth in a phantom using the type IC-17 ionization chamber was verified to be approximately 0.97 +/- 0.01.

Calorimetry↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Characterization of a p(66)Be(49) neutron therapy beam II: skin-sparing and dose transition effects.

Results of buildup measurements in A-150 tissue equivalent plastic are presented for a p(66)Be(49) neutron beam. These measurements were taken in air and behind various materials to answer questions about skin-sparing, bolussing materials, recovery of skin-sparing, and dosimetry in small radiobiological samples. The depth for Dmax for this beam is 1.6 g cm-2. An algorithm is also presented that reproduces the measured dose buildup curves.

Computers↗
PubMedDate not supplied

p(42)Be neutron therapy beams: dose rate and penetration as a function of target thickness and beam filtration.

It is shown that, in the production of p(42)Be neutron beams for clinical use, the use of semithick targets leads to more desirable beam characteristics when appropriate backstop materials are used. Furthermore, an algebraic representation of beam penetration and of dose per unit charge on target, including hardening by polyethylene filters, provides a method for target optimization.

Beryllium↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Characteristics of A-150 plastic-equivalent gas in A-150 plastic ionization chambers for p(66)Be(49) neutrons.

The evaluation of a gas mixture having an atomic composition similar to that of A-150 tissue-equivalent (TE) plastic has been extended to a high-energy neutron therapy beam. "A-150" gas, air, and methane-based TE gas were each flowed through A-150 plastic-walled ion chambers of different sizes and irradiated with p(66)Be(49) neutrons. A tentative value for W(A-150) of 27.3 +/- 0.5 JC-1 was derived for this beam. The W value of the A-150 gas mixture is compared to those of methane-based TE gas and of air for the p(66)Be(49) neutron beam as well as to corresponding values found in similar experiments using 14.8-MeV monoenergetic neutrons.

Beryllium↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A new look at displacement factor and point of measurement corrections in ionization chamber dosimetry.

A new technique is presented for determination of the effective point of measurement when cavity ionization chambers are used to measure the absorbed dose due to ionizing radiation in a dense medium. An algorithm is derived relating the effective point of measurement to the displacement correction factor. This algorithm relates variations of the displacement factor to the radiation field gradient. The technique is applied to derive the magnitudes of the corrections for several chambers in a p(66)Be(49) neutron therapy beam.

Mathematics↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Activation of the major constituents of tissue and air by a fast neutron radiation therapy beam.

The production of 11C, 13N, 15O from C, N, O, and of 39Cl and 41Ar from Ar by a p(66)Be(49) clinical neutron therapy beam has been measured. The results of these measurements were used to estimate the production of other radionuclides, then to estimate airborne radioactivity in a typical neutron therapy room and radioactivity induced in body tissues during treatment. Only under special circumstances would airborne radioactivity necessitate a waiting period before entering a typical treatment room. The additional dose to a treatment volume due to decay products from radioactivity induced within that volume would amount to a few thousandths of the given dose and the additional body dose outside the treated volume would be a few millionths of the given dose.

Air↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Kermas for various substances averaged over the energy spectra of fast neutron therapy beams: a study in uncertainties.

Kermas for various substances averaged over the energy spectra of fast neutron therapy beams, as well as ratios of average kermas relative to muscle, were calculated in an attempt to estimate the uncertainties introduced in these quantities by the poor knowledge of the elemental kerma functions, actual neutron energy spectra, and composition of tissues and other materials. Average kermas have uncertainties of the order of 7%-25%, while for ratios of average kermas the uncertainties are of the order of 2%-5% for materials of clinical interest. It is concluded that the ratio of average kerma of muscle to A-150 tissue-equivalent plastic should be 0.93 +/- 0.03 for the new p + Be clinical neutron beams.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Absolute neutron dosimetry: effects of ionization chamber wall thickness.

To assess the effect of ionization chamber wall thickness on absolute neutron absorbed dose determinations, measurements were made of the charge collected by an A-150 tissue-equivalent plastic ionization chamber irradiated by a p(66)Be(49) neutron therapy beam as a function of chamber wall thickness both in air and in four different media: tissue-equivalent solution, water, motor oil, and glycerin. Wall thicknesses ranged from 1 to 31 mm, where isolation of the chamber gas volume from protons originating outside the chamber wall was assured. The in-air measurements compare favorably with earlier buildup measurements performed with an A-150 extrapolation chamber in an A-150 phantom. The in-phantom results may be explained if the effect of charged particles reaching the gas volume from the medium and the wall as well as the differences in neutron attenuation by the wall and the medium displaced by the wall are taken into account. The errors in absolute absorbed dose determination caused by ignoring the above processes are assessed.

Humans↗