Detailed study of the distribution of activation inside the magnet coils of a compact PET cyclotron

V Bonvin; F Bochud; J Damet; C Theis; H Vincke; R Geyer

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2020.109446

Detailed study of the distribution of activation inside the magnet coils of a compact PET cyclotron

Appl Radiat Isot. 2021 Feb:168:109446. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2020.109446. Epub 2020 Sep 28.

Authors

V Bonvin¹, F Bochud², J Damet³, C Theis⁴, H Vincke⁵, R Geyer⁶

Affiliations

¹ European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN), Esplanade des Particules, CH-1211, Meyrin, Switzerland; Institute for Radiation Physics, Lausanne University Hospital, Rue du Grand-Pré, CH-1007, Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: valentin.bonvin@cern.ch.
² Institute for Radiation Physics, Lausanne University Hospital, Rue du Grand-Pré, CH-1007, Lausanne, Switzerland.
³ Institute for Radiation Physics, Lausanne University Hospital, Rue du Grand-Pré, CH-1007, Lausanne, Switzerland; University of Otago, 2 Riccarton Ave, Christchurch, New Zealand.
⁴ European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN), Esplanade des Particules, CH-1211, Meyrin, Switzerland.
⁵ European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN), Esplanade des Particules, CH-1211, Meyrin, Switzerland; University of Technology, Rechbauerstraße 12, 8010, Graz, Austria.
⁶ European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN), Esplanade des Particules, CH-1211, Meyrin, Switzerland; Institute for Radiation Physics, Lausanne University Hospital, Rue du Grand-Pré, CH-1007, Lausanne, Switzerland.

PMID: 33358068
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2020.109446

Abstract

We determined the distribution of activation products inside the magnet coils of a medical cyclotron that has been operational for fifteen years. Besides FLUKA, we based our approach on new software tools (RAW and ActiWiz) developed for high-energy accelerators at CERN. A combined analysis of measurements on the coils with Monte-Carlo simulations resulted in a detailed three-dimensional radiological characterisation of the coils. Our results provide the required information for the radiation protection expert to identify the appropriate waste elimination scheme.

Keywords: Activation; Cyclotron; Decommissioning; Gamma spectrometry; Magnet coil; Monte Carlo simulation; Neutron spectrum; Positron emission tomography.