[en] It has been studied the dosimetric characteristics of a multileaf collimator (MLC) installed on a dual energy accelerator with 6 and 18 MV photon beams in the radiotherapy department of Mauriziano Umberto I Hospital in Turin (Italy) initiating its use in clinical practice. In particular, measurements included transmission through and between the leaves and at the junction under closed-leaves, central axis percentage depth dose, output factors and effective penumbra

[en] Recently the BNCT (Boron Neutron Capture Therapy) Scientific Community renewed the interest in the development of compact neutron sources for in hospital BNCT in order to skip the problems related to the use of nuclear reactors and to increase the number of treated patients. This paper presents a feasibility study for the exploitation of a high power D-D compact neutron facility, designed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Ca, USA), for the treatment of tumours with diffuse metastases, such as liver cancer. The MCNP code is used to carry out an accurate study of the epithermal column and to assess both the free beam parameters and the in phantom figures of merit to evaluate the beam effectiveness. Various Beam Shaping Assemblies are tested using different materials and geometrical shapes in order to optimize the therapeutic ratio. Finally, the dose profiles are calculated along the beam axis in the anthropomorphic phantom 'ADAM'. (author)

[en] Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is currently performed on patients at nuclear reactors. At the same time the international BNCT community is engaged in the development of alternative facilities for in-hospital treatments. This paper investigates the potential of a novel high-output D-D neutron generator, developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (CA, USA), for BNCT. The simulation code MCNP-4C is used to realize an accurate study of the epithermal column in view of the treatment of deep tumours. Different materials and Beam Shaping Assemblies (BSA) are investigated and an optimized configuration is proposed. The neutron beam quality is defined by the standard free beam parameters, calculated averaging over the collimator aperture. The results are discussed and compared with the performances of other facilities