The fast neutron facility at the research reactor Munich. Determination of the beam quality and medical applications

At the research reactor FRM, fast and epithermal neutron beams are generated by a thermal-to-fast neutron converter and/or near core scatterers. The dosimetry and spectroscopy of the resulting intense mixed beams of neutron and gamma radiation with a wide range of energies set spetial tasks for neutron dosimetry and spectroscopy. The twin chamber method and some others are briefly described. Neutron spectroscopy is performed by a Li-6 sandwich spectrometer covering the full neutron spectrum of a well-collimated mixed beam from about 20 keV to 8 MeV. The data registration is assisted by a microcomputer which generates sum and triton spectra on-line. Sum analysis is applied to neutron energies greater than 0.3 MeV; the intermediate neutron spectrum is evaluated by unfolding of the triton spectrum. Moreover, a brief overview of the reactor neutron therapy (RENT) at the FRM is given. After a number of animal experiments for the determination of the biological effectiveness relative to X-rays, clinical irradiations have been started in 1985. The most important indications for RENT are listed. 140 patients with bad prognoses have been treated since. The average tumour control rate of 60% is surprisingly high. Possibilities for an assisting Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) are shown. 8 figs., 23 refs