Development of a Variable-Energy, Variable-Intensity, On/Off-Switchable Gamma-Ray Needle Source for Brachytherapy

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We investigated the feasibility of a new cancer therapy, in which a syringe needle is inserted into the tumor deep inside the patient's body and a proton beam is transported through the needle to a heavy-metal target at the end in order to produce gamma-rays. Since preliminary measurements showed that the gamma-ray intensity was not enough, we used characteristic X-rays instead. After precise alignment, the beam transmission has reached 80% of the value expected from the needle bore size. Ag KX-rays were produced by attaching a Ag target at the end of the needle. Only Ag KX-rays were successfully extracted, since other low-energy X-rays were attenuated by the needle wall.