NEUTRON CAPTURE SYNOVECTOMY FOR RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

该计划的目的是确定滑膜切除术的可行性。 利用10B(n，α)7Li核反应与外部中子束 用于治疗类风湿关节炎(RA)。这种疗法有两种 比手术或放射治疗滑膜切除术更具潜在优势 RA的发射器：它是非侵入性的，不需要 给病人注射放射性物质。近期 实验表明，可以获得非常高的硼浓度。 在体外活跃的人类滑膜中。然而，所需的中子束 治疗的特征目前尚不清楚。 在第一阶段，将使用蒙特卡罗模拟技术来确定 获得成功所需的硼分布和中子束参数 类风湿关节炎最常涉及的人类滑膜关节的治疗。一个 最大限度减少辐射的加速器中子束优化设计 在中子俘获滑膜切除术中对非靶组织的剂量将是 发展起来的。这项工作将导致建造一种中子疗法 第二阶段的光束线，将为未来的 使用10B(n，α)反应消融滑膜组织的活体研究。 建议的商业应用：类风湿性关节炎 约占美国人口的1%。建议数 滑膜切除手术可以在门诊进行，大约在 是滑膜切除手术费用的十分之一。如果展示了这项技术 为了安全和有效，治疗光束将存在一个巨大的市场。

The goal of this program is to determine the feasibility of synovectomy using the 10B(n,alpha)7 Li nuclear reaction with an external neutron beam for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This therapy has two potential advantages over surgical or radiation synovectomy with beta- emitters for RA: it is non-invasive and it does not require the administration of radioactive materials to the patient. Recent experiments have shown that very high boron concentrations can be achieved in active human synovium in vitro. However, the required neutron beam characteristics for therapy are presently unknown. In Phase I, Monte Carlo simulation techniques will be used to determine the required boron distribution and neutron beam parameters for successful therapy of the human synovial joints most commonly involved in RA. An optimized accelerator-based neutron beam design which minimizes radiation dose to non-target tissues in neutron capture synovectomy will then be developed. This work will lead to the construction of a neutron therapy beamline in Phase II and will provide the quantitative basis for future in vivo studies of synovial tissue ablation using the 10B(n,alpha) reaction. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: Rheumatoid arthritis affects approximately 1% of the population of the United States. The proposed synovectomy procedure could be performed on an outpatient basis at about one-tenth the cost of a surgical synovectomy. If this technique is shown to be safe and effective, a large market for therapy beams will exist.