Preliminary characterization of a CdZnTe photon detector for BNCT-SPECT

The effectiveness of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) treatment depends on the amount of radiation dose deposited locally by the reaction B-10(n, alpha)Li-7 in the tumour; however, the local and real time measurement of this quantity during the neutron irradiation is a big challenge. To evaluate the dose it is necessary to know the spatial distribution of the B-10 concentration and thermal neutron flux in the tissue during the irradiation.One technique to solve this problem relies on the on-line detection of the 478 keV(7)Li de-excitation photons that can be used to map the spatial distribution of the reaction rate of the B-10(n, alpha)Li-7. The present work has been developed within a project aiming to develop a Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) system based on CdZnTe (CZT) semiconductor detector.