title: 'The measurement of thermal neutron flux depression for determining the concentration of boron in blood'--suggestions as to further development of the method.
abstract: Suggestions about determining the concentration of 10B in blood via the thermal neutron flux depression measurement (NFDM) are made. The use of a measuring set-up consisting of a 252Cf neutron source, polyethylene moderator and a slim BF3 counter surrounded by an annular sample is examined. It is shown experimentally that using 6 ml samples and the source emitting 1.4 x 10(7) neutrons s(-1), one can determine the concentration of 10B in water at the level of 10 ppm with a statistical precision of 10% in about 20 min. Monte Carlo simulations performed with the use of MCNP-4C code revealed a potential for further improvements of the NFDM technique both in respect of the sample volume and counting period.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bolewski
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ciechanowski
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dydejczyk
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kreft
mesh_terms: D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D001895:Boron / Q000097:blood*; D016754:Boron Neutron Capture Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007554:Isotopes / Q000097:blood; D009502:Neutrons; D011874:Radiometry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D007554:Isotopes; D001895:Boron