Nanodosimetric measurements and calculations in a neutron therapy beam

A comparison of calculated and measured values of the dose mean lineal energy (yD) for the former neutron therapy beam at Louvain-la-Neuve is reported. The measurements were made with wall-less tissue-equivalent proportional counters using the variance-covariance method and simulating spheres with diameters between 10 nm and 15 µm. The calculated yD-values were obtained from simulated energy distributions of neutrons and charged particles inside an A-150 phantom and from published yD-values for mono-energetic ions. The energy distributions of charged particles up to oxygen were determined with the SHIELD-HIT code using an MCNPX simulated neutron spectrum as an input. The mono-energetic ion yD-values in the range 3-100 nm were taken from track-structure simulations in water vapour done with PITS/KURBUC. The large influence on the dose mean lineal energy from the light ion (A > 4) absorbed dose fraction, may explain an observed difference between experiment and calculation. The latter being larger than earlier reported result. Below 50 nm, the experimental values increase while the calculated decrease. © The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.