Studies of recombination chambers filled with nitrogen for BNCT dosimetry

Dosimetric characterization of therapy beams for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) involves determination of dose components and among them the “nitrogen” dose due to protons generated by neutron capture on 14N. In this work, investigations were carried out using a graphite recombination chamber in order to determine the 14N capture, gamma, and fast neutron dose components. The separation of the dose components is based on differences in the shape of the saturation curve, depending on the LET spectrum of the investigated radiation. The measurements were performed in reference radiation fields at the Institute of Atomic Energy at Świerk and at a reactor beam of the INP Řež (the Czech Republic). The gamma component was determined with an accuracy of about 5%, while the variations in its value could be monitored with an accuracy of about 0.5%. Relative changes in the beam components (thermal/fast neutrons) could be detected on line with an accuracy of about 5%. It was shown that the chamber with tissue-equivalent cups could be used for the determination of the 14N capture dose at different depths in tissue.