• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.37-42
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• 2009

Proton therapy facility, which is recently installed at National Cancer Center in Korea, generally produces a large amount of radiation near cyclotron due to the secondary particles and radioisotopes caused by collision between proton and nearby materials during the acceleration. Although the level of radiation by radioisotope decreases in length of time, radiation exposure problem still exists since workers are easily exposed by a low level of radiation for a long time due to their job assignment for maintenance or repair of the proton facility. In this paper, the working environment near cyclotron, where the highest radiation exposure is expected, was studied by measuring the degree of radiation and its duration for an appropriate level of protective action guide. To do this, we measured the radiation change in the graphite based energy degrader, the efficiency of transmitted beam and relative activation degree of the transmission beam line. The results showed that while the level of radiation exposure around cyclotron and beam line during the operation is much higher than the other radiation therapy facilities, the radiation exposure rate per year is under the limit recommended by the law showing 1~3 mSv/year.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.9
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• pp.2064-2071
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• 2020

For proton pencil beam scanning (PBS) technology, the accuracy of the dose distribution in a patient is sensitive to the properties of the incident beam. However, mechanical deformation of the proton therapy facility may occur, and this could be an important factor affecting the proton dose distribution in patients. In this paper, we investigated the effect of deformation on an SC200 proton facility's beam isocenter properties. First, mechanical deformation of the PBS nozzle, L-shape plate, and gantry were simulated using a Finite Element code, ANSYS. Then, the impact of the mechanical deformation on the beam's isocenter properties was evaluated using empirical formulas. In addition, we considered the simplest case that could affect the properties of the incident beam (i.e. if only the bending magnet (BG3) has an error in its mounting alignment), and the effect of the beam optics offset on the isocenter characteristics was evaluated. The results showed that the deformation of the beam position in the X and Y direction was less than 0.27 mm, which meets the structural design requirements. Compared to the mechanical deformation of the L-shape plate, the deformation of the gantry had more influence on the beam's isocenter properties. When the error in the mounting alignment of the BG3 is equal to or more than 0.3 mm, the beam deformation at the isocenter exceeds the maximum accepted deformation limits. Generally speaking, for the current design of the SC200 scanning beam delivery system, the effects of mechanical deformation meet the maximum accepted beam deformation limits. In order to further study the effect of the incident beam optics on the isocenter properties, a fine-scale Monte Carlo model including factors relating to the PBS nozzle and the BG3 should be developed in future research.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.378-390
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• 2023

The SPES (Selective Production of Exotic Species) facility, currently under development at Legnaro National Laboratories of INFN, aims at the production of intense RIB (Radioactive Ion Beams) employing the Isotope Separation On-Line (ISOL) technique for interdisciplinary research. The radioactive isotopes of interest are produced by the interaction of a multi-foil uranium carbide target with a 40 MeV 200 μA proton beam generated by a cyclotron proton driver. The Target Ion Source (TIS) is the core of the SPES project, here the radioactive nuclei, mainly neutron-rich isotopes, are stopped, extracted, ionized, separated, accelerated and delivered to specific experimental areas. Due to efficiency reasons, the TIS unit needs to be replaced periodically during operation. In this highly radioactive environment, the employment of autonomous systems allows the manipulation, transport, and storage of the TIS unit without the need for human intervention. A dedicated remote handling infrastructure is therefore under development to fulfill the functional and safety requirement of the project. This contribution describes the layout of the SPES target area, where all the remote handling systems operate to grant the smooth operation of the facility avoiding personnel exposure to a high dose rate or contamination issues.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.2295-2297
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• 2003

The major problem encountered in satellite design is EMI (Electro-Magnetic Interference) and EMC (Electro-Magnetic Compatibility). Here, our focus is on the effects of protons on the electronic system. The SEU (Single Event Upset) results from the level change of stored information due to photon radiation and temperature in the space and the nuclear power plant environment. The impact of SEU on PLD (Programmable Logic Devices) technology is most apparent in ROM/SRAM/DRAM devices wherein the state of storage cell can be upset. In this paper, a simple and powerful test techniques is suggested, and the results are presented for the analysis and future reference. The test results are compared with that of JPL test report. In our experiment, the proton radiation facility available at KIRAMS (Korea Institute of Radiological Medical Sciences) has been applied on a commercially available SRAM manufactured by Hynix Semiconductor Company.

• IEIE Transactions on Smart Processing and Computing
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• v.4 no.5
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• pp.297-304
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• 2015

A multilayer gaseous detector has been developed for fast dose-verification measurements of raster-scan-mode therapeutic beams in particle therapy. The detector, which was constructed with eight thin parallel-plate ionization chambers (PPICs) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) absorber plates, is closely tissue-equivalent in a beam's eye view. The gas-electron signals, collected on the strips and pad arrays of each PPIC, were amplified and processed with a continuous charge.integration mode. The detector was tested with 190-MeV raster-scan-mode beams that were provided by the Proton Therapy Facility at Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea. The detector responses of the PPICs for a 190-MeV raster-scan-mode proton beam agreed well with the dose data, measured using a 2D ionization chamber array (Octavius model, PTW). Furthermore, in this study it was confirmed that the detector simultaneously tracked the doses induced at the PPICs by the fast-oscillating beam, with a scanning speed of 2 m s-1. Thus, it is anticipated that the present detector, composed of thin PPICs and operating in charge.integration mode, will allow medical scientists to perform reliable fast dose-verification measurements for typical dynamic mode therapeutic beams.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.215-221
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• 2023

Proton treatment may deliver a larger dose to a patient's skin than traditional photon therapy, especially when a range shifter (RS) is inserted in the beam path. This study investigated the effects of an RS on skin dose while considering RS with different thicknesses, airgaps and materials. First, the physical model of the scanning nozzle with RS was established in the TOol for PArticle Simulation (TOPAS) code, and the effects of the RS on the skin dose were studied. Second, the variations in the skin dose and isocenter beam size were examined by reducing the air gap. Finally, the effects of different RS materials, such as polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), Lexan, polyethylene and polystyrene, on the skin dose were analysed. The results demonstrated that the current RS design had a negligible effect on the skin dose, whereas the RS significantly impacted the isocenter beam size. The skin dose was increased considerably when the RS was placed close to the phantom. Moreover, the magnitude of the increase was related to the thickness of the inserted RS. Meanwhile, the results also revealed that the secondary proton primarily contributed to the increased skin dose.

• 대한방사선방어학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.11a
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• pp.178-179
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• 2011

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.226-232
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• 2007

We studied a Monte Carlo simulation of the proton beam delivery system at the National Cancer Center (NCC) using the Geant4 Monte Carlo toolkit and tested its feasibility as a dose verification framework. The Monte Carlo technique for dose calculation methodology has been recognized as the most accurate way for understanding the dose distribution in given materials. In order to take advantage of this methodology for application to external-beam radiotherapy, a precise modeling of the nozzle elements along with the beam delivery path and correct initial beam characteristics are mandatory. Among three different treatment modes, double/single-scattering, uniform scanning and pencil beam scanning, we have modeled and simulated the double-scattering mode for the nozzle elements, including all components and varying the time and space with the Geant4.8.2 Monte Carlo code. We have obtained simulation data that showed an excellent correlation to the measured dose distributions at a specific treatment depth. We successfully set up the Monte Carlo simulation platform for the NCC proton therapy facility. It can be adapted to the precise dosimetry for therapeutic proton beam use at the NCC. Additional Monte Carlo work for the full proton beam energy range can be performed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.1253-1260
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• 2022

This paper reports the control method for the core power of the China initiative Accelerator Driven System (CiADS) facility. In the CiADS facility, an intense external neutron source provided by a proton accelerator coupled to a spallation target is used to drive a sub-critical reactor. Without any control rod inside the sub-critical reactor, the core power is controlled by adjusting the proton beam intensity. In order to continuously change the beam intensity, an adjustable aperture is considered to be used at the Low Energy Beam Transport (LEBT) line of the accelerator. The aperture size is adjusted based on the Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controllers, by comparing either the setting beam intensity or the setting core power with the measured value. To evaluate the proposed control method, a CiADS core model is built based on the point reactor kinetics model with six delayed neutron groups. The simulations based on the CiADS core model have indicated that the core power can be controlled stably by adjusting the aperture size. The response time in the adjustment of the core power depends mainly on the adjustment time of the beam intensity.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.210-214
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• 2004

Since production of radioactive isotope for using PET, a lot of neutrons were produced. The produced neutrons were mainly shielded by concrete facility. Secondary photons are generated and emitted from the concrete shielding wall of the PET cyclotron since the proton-generated neutrons are thermalized and absorbed in the concrete wall and emit secondary radiations, i.e., photons. This study calculated neutron dose and photon dose at outside of the accelerator facility using MCNPX code. As results of the calculation, total dose were calculated less than limited dose by law.