Numerical characterization of a tomographic system for online dose measurements in Boron Neutron Capture Therapy

A tomographic system for online dose measurements in Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) based on the measurement of a specific 478 keV γ‐ray emitted after the neutron capture in boron is being developed. In the present work we study by means of Monte Carlo numerical simulations the effects of the finite spatial resolution and the limited number of counts, i. e. the statistical noise, on the reconstructed image contrast of numerical phantoms. These phantoms, of simple geometry, mimic the tumor (specific) and the normal tissue (non specific) boron concentrations. The simulated projection data were reconstructed using the expectation‐maximization maximum‐likelihood algorithm. These studies will help in the improvement of BNCT dosimetry.