Application of an ultra-miniature thermal neutron monitor for BNCT irradiation field study

Recently, a new type of detector using a scintillator coupled with an optical fiber was developed for the same purpose. Among these types of detectors, the SOF (scintillator with optical fiber) detector has been used for monitoring thermal neutron during boron neutron capture therapy in Japan. The detector probe of the SOF detector system is smaller than other neutron monitors such as gas counters which makes the SOF detector more useful for thermal neutron monitoring in restricted spaces. A phantom experiment was performed using the SOF detector to test the applicability for a boron neutron capture therapy irradiation field study. The result measured by the SOF detector agrees well with a gold wire measurement in spite of only a 30-minutes measurement time with the SOF detector