The status and its future of BNCT irradiation systems using accelerators

The development of new neutron irradiation systems have been carried out with the aim of realizing accelerator based boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). However, no major breakthroughs have come out in the past few years. Here, I would like to report about the status and future prospects of neutron irradiation systems for BNCT from the point of view of medical physics based neutron engineering concepts. I would also like to discuss our proposal to use neutrons from the 7Li(p,n)7Be reaction generated in a flowing liquid target which will allow stable neutron production at long target life times. Earlier problems regarding target damage and heat removal are minimized in this design. With accelerator based neutron sources, we envision a BNCT irradiation facility that could be conveniently located in hospitals, making it easily accessible to both patients and medical staffs. (author)