Modelling of brain tissue substitutes for phantom materials in neutron capture therapy (NCT) dosimetry

The aim of this study was to define the most suitable brain tissue phantom material for neutron capture therapy (NCT), The calculated distributions of the thermal neutron fluence and the fast neutron and gamma dose in normal brain tissue defined by ICRU were compared to those in four brain tissue su bstitutes: water; PMMA and two normal brain tissue substitute liquids, A an d B, defined by us. Liquid B is an excellent material to simulate the neutr on and gamma interactions in normal brain tissue and it can be considered f or use in situations for which higher accuracy is required, although it may not be suitable for routine use. Water is a suitable brain tissue substitu te for periodic epithermal beam calibration, for routine quality control an d for intercomparison of beams in NCT dosimetry. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.