CN117942504A

CN117942504A - Animal irradiation device and animal irradiation system

Info

Publication number: CN117942504A
Application number: CN202211401657.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘星言; 刘渊豪; 贡秋平; 舒迪昀
Original assignee: China Boron Xiamen Medical Equipment Co ltd
Current assignee: China Boron Xiamen Medical Equipment Co ltd
Priority date: 2022-10-31
Filing date: 2022-11-10
Publication date: 2024-04-30

Abstract

The application discloses an animal irradiation device and an animal irradiation system, wherein the animal irradiation device comprises an animal accommodation mechanism, the animal accommodation mechanism extends along an axis direction and is provided with a first end and a second end which are opposite along the axis direction, and the animal accommodation mechanism is provided with a cavity for accommodating animals; the first shielding mechanism is positioned at the second end of the animal accommodating mechanism and comprises a first hole unit which is opposite to the cavity along the axis direction; the second shielding mechanism is positioned on one side of the first shielding mechanism, which is away from the animal accommodating mechanism along the axial direction, and comprises a second hole unit which is opposite to the first hole unit along the axial direction. According to the animal irradiation device and the animal irradiation system provided by the embodiment of the application, neutron beam current can be adjusted, and the in-vivo dose distribution of animals can be optimized.

Description

Animal irradiation device and animal irradiation system

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of preclinical animal experiments, in particular to an animal irradiation device and an animal irradiation system.

Background

With the development of atomic science, radiation therapy such as cobalt sixty, linac, electron beam, etc. has become one of the main means for cancer therapy. However, the traditional photon or electron treatment is limited by the physical condition of the radioactive rays, and a large amount of normal tissues on the beam path can be damaged while killing tumor cells; in addition, due to the different sensitivity of tumor cells to radiation, traditional radiotherapy often has poor therapeutic effects on malignant tumors with relatively high radiation resistance (such as glioblastoma multiforme (glioblastoma multiforme) and melanoma (melanoma)).

In order to reduce irradiation damage to normal tissue surrounding a tumor, the concept of target treatment in chemotherapy (chemotherapy) is applied to radiotherapy; for tumor cells with high radiation resistance, radiation sources with high relative biological effects (relative biological effectiveness, RBE) such as proton therapy, heavy particle therapy, neutron capture therapy, etc. are also actively developed. The neutron capture treatment combines the two concepts, such as boron neutron capture treatment, and provides better cancer treatment selection than the traditional radioactive rays by means of the specific aggregation of boron-containing medicaments in tumor cells and the accurate neutron beam regulation.

Boron neutron capture therapy (Boron Neutron Capture Therapy, BNCT) utilizes the characteristic of boron-containing (¹⁰ B) drugs that have a high capture cross section for thermal neutrons, and generates ⁴ He and ⁷ Li two heavy charged particles by means of ¹⁰B(n,α)⁷ Li neutron capture and nuclear fission reactions. Referring to fig. 1 and 2, schematic diagrams of a boron neutron capture reaction and a ¹⁰B(n,α)⁷ Li neutron capture nuclear reaction equation are shown respectively, the average energy of the two charged particles is about 2.33MeV, the two charged particles have high linear transfer (LINEAR ENERGY TRANSFER, LET) and short range characteristics, the linear energy transfer and the range of alpha particles are respectively 150keV/μm and 8 μm, the ⁷ Li heavy charged particles are 175keV/μm and 5 μm, the total range of the two particles is about equal to one cell size, so that irradiation damage caused to organisms can be limited to a cell level, and when boron-containing drugs are selectively accumulated in tumor cells, the purpose of locally killing the tumor cells can be achieved under the premise of not causing too great damage to normal tissues by matching with a proper neutron source.

In order to study the biological effect of radiation and verify the effect of radiotherapy, animal irradiation experiments are required before clinical treatment, and in the experiments, animals are usually fixed and irradiated for relevant irradiation researches.

For example, animal irradiation tests are required to be truly, reliable, accurate, scientific and complete as part of preclinical animal testing. At present, no animal irradiation device suitable for animals, particularly rats with relatively large sizes, exists.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to solve the technical problem of providing an animal irradiation device for adjusting neutron beam current and optimizing the dose distribution in an animal body aiming at the defects of the prior art.

The embodiment of the application discloses an animal irradiation device, which is characterized by comprising:

An animal containment mechanism extending along an axis, the animal containment mechanism having first and second ends opposite along the axis, the animal containment mechanism having a cavity for containing an animal;

a first shielding mechanism located at a second end of the animal accommodation mechanism, the first shielding mechanism including a first hole unit disposed opposite to the cavity in the axis direction;

The second shielding mechanism is positioned on one side, away from the animal accommodating mechanism, of the first shielding mechanism along the axial direction, and comprises a second hole unit which is arranged opposite to the first hole unit along the axial direction.

Preferably, the animal containment mechanism is made of boron carbide or lithium carbonate material; the first shielding mechanism is made of lead or lead alloy materials; the second shielding mechanism is made of graphite material.

Preferably, the cavity is open towards the second end of the animal accommodation mechanism, a spacer for limiting the animal is arranged in the animal accommodation mechanism, and the spacer sequentially extends into the cavity, the first hole unit and the second hole unit from the first end of the animal accommodation mechanism.

Preferably, the cavity of the animal containment mechanism is open towards the first end of the animal containment mechanism, and the spacer is detachably connected to the animal containment mechanism from the first end of the animal containment mechanism.

Preferably, the animal accommodation mechanism has a plurality, the first shielding mechanism is provided with a plurality of first hole units corresponding to the animal accommodation mechanism one by one, and the second shielding mechanism is provided with a plurality of second hole units corresponding to the first hole units one by one.

Preferably, the center line of the cavity of the animal accommodation mechanism, the center line of the first hole unit corresponding to the cavity of the animal accommodation mechanism, and the center line of the second hole unit corresponding to the first hole unit coincide.

Preferably, the animal housing further comprises a housing and a bracket arranged in the housing, wherein the bracket comprises a first rod unit connected with the inner side wall of the housing and a second rod unit connected with the first rod unit, the second rod unit comprises a plurality of rods which are arranged at intervals along the direction perpendicular to the axis, and the animal housing mechanisms are respectively arranged on the corresponding rods.

Preferably, the first lever unit includes a body portion made of a metal material and a fitting portion fitted with an inner sidewall of the housing and connected with the body portion, the housing and the fitting portion being made of a PMMA material.

Preferably, the second shielding mechanism includes at least two second shielding units arranged in the axial direction, and the at least two second shielding units are formed with second stepped portions for limiting the irradiation parts of the animals.

Preferably, the first shielding mechanism includes at least two first shielding units arranged along the axis direction, and the at least two first shielding units are formed with first step parts for limiting non-irradiated parts of the animals.

Preferably, the second shielding mechanism includes at least two second shielding units arranged along the axis direction, and the at least two second shielding units are formed with second step parts for limiting the head of the animal; the first shielding mechanism comprises at least two first shielding units which are arranged along the axis direction, and the at least two first shielding units are formed with first step parts for limiting the neck and/or the shoulder of the animal.

Preferably, the device further comprises a third shielding mechanism capable of covering at least the first hole unit, and the third shielding mechanism is located on one side of the second shielding mechanism away from the first shielding mechanism along the axis direction.

Preferably, the third shielding mechanism is made of lead or lead alloy material.

Preferably, the device further comprises a slowing mechanism capable of covering at least the first hole unit, and the slowing mechanism is located on one side of the third shielding mechanism, which is away from the second shielding mechanism along the axis direction.

Preferably, the moderating mechanism is made of PMMA material.

The embodiment of the application discloses an animal irradiation system, which comprises:

a radiation source for generating radiation, the radiation source comprising a beam aperture having a predetermined aperture;

the animal irradiation device can be placed in the beam hole,

The maximum outer diameter of the animal irradiation device is the same as or similar to the preset aperture of the beam hole.

In summary, the method adopted by the embodiment of the invention has the following advantages:

1. the first shielding mechanism and the second shielding mechanism can adjust neutron beam current and optimize the dose distribution in animals;

2. the animal containment means may be made of a material capable of absorbing neutrons to protect organs of the animal, particularly organs within the abdomen of the rat;

3. The shell and the bracket can play a role in fixedly supporting animals;

4. The first step part and/or the second step part take the actual conditions of animals, particularly rats into consideration, so that the first step part and/or the second step part are more suitable for the actual operation conditions;

5. the third shielding mechanism and the moderating mechanism can act to control the dosage of the head of the animal.

For a further understanding of the nature and the technical aspects of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description of the invention and to the accompanying drawings, which are provided for purposes of reference only and are not intended to limit the invention.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present description or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings that are required in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly described below, it being obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some of the embodiments described in the present description, and that other drawings may be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a boron neutron capture reaction.

FIG. 2 is ¹⁰B(n,α)⁷ Li neutron capture nuclear reaction equation.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an animal irradiation system in accordance with an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of an animal irradiation system in accordance with another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural view of an animal irradiation device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 6 is a schematic view of the animal irradiation device of fig. 5 with the animal accommodation mechanism removed.

Fig. 7 shows a schematic structural diagram of an animal irradiation device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 8 is a partial schematic view of the animal irradiation device in fig. 5, mainly showing a first shielding mechanism, a second shielding mechanism, a first step portion, and a second step portion.

Fig. 9 mainly shows a schematic structural view of the first shielding unit.

Fig. 10 mainly shows a schematic structural view of the second shielding unit.

Fig. 11 is a schematic structural view of a part of the animal irradiation device in fig. 5, mainly showing the second shielding mechanism, the third shielding mechanism, and the slowing mechanism.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural view of an animal irradiation device according to another embodiment of the present application, which includes a housing.

Fig. 13 is a front view of fig. 11, primarily showing the animal containment mechanism, the bracket, and the housing. Reference numerals of the above drawings: 100. an animal irradiation system; 10. a radiation source; 20. an animal irradiation device; 11. a neutron generating device; 12. a beam shaping body; 13. a collimator; 111. a charged particle beam generating device; t, target material; p, charged particle beam; n, neutron beam; z, retarder; 200. an animal; 201. an animal containment mechanism; 2011. a gasket; 2012. a cavity; y, axis; 202. a first shielding mechanism; 2021. a first shielding unit; 2022. a first hole unit; 2023. a first step portion; 203. a second shielding mechanism; 2031. a second shielding unit; 2032. a second hole unit; 2033. a second step portion; 204. a slowing mechanism; 2041. a protrusion; 2042. a groove; 205. a housing; 206. a bracket; 2061. a first lever unit; 2062. a second lever unit; 2063. a main body portion; 2064. a bonding part; 207. and a third shielding mechanism.

Detailed Description

In order to make the technical solutions in the present specification better understood by those skilled in the art, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present specification will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present specification, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present specification, not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without undue burden from the present disclosure, are intended to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

The following embodiments of the present invention are described in terms of specific examples, and those skilled in the art will appreciate the advantages and effects of the present invention from the disclosure herein. The invention is capable of other and different embodiments and its several details are capable of modifications and various other uses and applications, all of which are obvious from the description, without departing from the spirit of the invention. The drawings of the present invention are merely schematic illustrations, and are not intended to be drawn to actual dimensions. The following embodiments will further illustrate the related art content of the present invention in detail, but the disclosure is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

It will be understood that, although the terms "first," "second," "third," etc. may be used herein to describe various components or signals, these components or signals should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used primarily to distinguish one element from another element or signal from another signal. In addition, the term "or" as used herein shall include any one or combination of more of the associated listed items as the case may be.

As shown in fig. 3, the animal irradiation system 100 includes a radiation source 10 for generating radiation and including a beam outlet OUT, and an animal irradiation device 20 for housing an animal 200. In irradiation, the animal 200 is positioned in the animal irradiation device 20, the animal irradiation device 20 is fixed relative to the radiation source 10, and then the radiation source 10 is controlled to generate radiation and irradiate the animal 200 in the animal irradiation device 20 from the beam outlet OUT.

In this embodiment, the animal irradiation system 100 is a boron neutron capture treatment system, and the radiation source 10 includes a neutron production device 11, a beam shaper 12, and a collimator 13. The neutron generator 11 is configured to generate a neutron beam N, the neutron generator 11 includes a charged particle beam generator 111 and a target T, the charged particle beam generator 111 includes an accelerator, charged particles (such as protons, deuterons, etc.) are accelerated by the accelerator to generate a charged particle beam P such as a proton beam, the charged particle beam P irradiates the target T and reacts with the target T to generate neutrons, and the neutrons form the neutron beam N. Suitable nuclear reactions may be selected based on the desired neutron yield and energy, the available energy and current of the accelerated charged particles, the physical and chemical properties of the target T, etc., and the specific configuration of the accelerator 111 and the target T will not be described in detail herein. The beam shaping body 12 is used for adjusting the beam quality of the neutron beam N, the collimator 13 is used for converging the neutron beam N, so that the neutron beam N has higher targeting property in the treatment process, the collimator 13 forms a beam outlet OUT, and the neutron beam N exiting from the beam outlet OUT defines a main axis around the central axis X. The neutron beam N generated by the neutron generator 11 is irradiated to the animal 200 in the animal irradiating device 20 through the beam shaping body 12 and the collimator 13 in this order. The direction of the neutron beam N shown in the figures and described below does not represent the actual direction of neutron motion, but rather the direction of the overall motion trend of the neutron beam N. It will be appreciated that other configurations of neutron production device 11 are possible, such as the use of an accelerator 111 neutron source; the construction of the beam shaper 12 and the collimator 13 is not described in detail here. It will be appreciated that the radiation source 10 may be used simultaneously with the treatment of a tumor patient following irradiation trials on the animal 200. The radiation source 10 may also have other configurations, such as including other radiation generating devices, or without the beam shaping body 12 or collimator 13.

Fig. 4 shows an animal irradiation system 100 according to another embodiment of the present application, similar to the previous embodiment, the animal irradiation system 100 irradiates the charged particle beam P onto the target T to form a neutron beam with a wider energy spectrum, and the retarder Z adjusts the neutron beam with a wider energy spectrum to a neutron beam N with a certain energy range, and irradiates the neutron beam to the animal irradiation device 20. The beam shaper 12 may be used for adjusting the beam quality of the neutron beam N. Unlike the previous example, in this embodiment, the animal irradiation system 100 is not provided with a collimator, and the beam outlet is provided on the beam shaper 12.

As shown in fig. 5 and 6, based on this, an animal irradiation device 20 is disclosed, comprising:

An animal housing mechanism 201, said animal housing mechanism 201 extending along an axis Y, said animal housing mechanism 201 having first and second ends opposite along said axis Y, said animal housing mechanism 201 having a cavity 2012 which houses an animal 200 and is open at both ends;

A first shielding mechanism 202, said first shielding mechanism 202 being located at a second end of said animal accommodation mechanism 201, said first shielding mechanism 202 comprising a first aperture unit 2022 disposed opposite said cavity 2012 in said axis Y direction;

A second shielding mechanism 203, said second shielding mechanism 203 being located at a side of said first shielding mechanism 202 facing away from said animal accommodation mechanism 201 in said axis Y direction, said second shielding mechanism 203 comprising a second hole unit 2032 arranged opposite to said first hole unit 2022 in said axis Y direction.

With reference to fig. 7, with the above structure, the animal housing mechanism 201 can house the animal 200 therein, and the neutron beam N generated by the radiation source 10 passes through the second shielding mechanism 203 and the first shielding mechanism 202 to the animal housing mechanism 201, so that the first shielding mechanism 202 and the second shielding mechanism 203 can shield part of neutrons or gamma rays, and can shield and protect the area not to be irradiated from radiation.

Taking the animal 200 as an example of a rat, the animal irradiation device 20 can be used for carrying out neutron toxicity test on the head of the rat, the experiment mainly researches thermal neutron toxicity test, but fast neutrons and gamma rays exist, and the dose composition and the duty ratio of the toxicity test are similar to those of normal brain tissue of a non-tumor part of human brain treatment. In the toxicity test of the present embodiment, the irradiation site of the rat may include the head of the rat. In other words, the present test desirably allows the head of the rat to obtain as much thermal neutrons as possible while ensuring that the radiation source 10 is unchanged. The part of the rat from which the head is removed is a non-irradiated part, and may include organs such as the neck, trunk, and abdomen, tail, etc. below the head of the rat. In other words, in the present test, it is desirable to obtain as many thermal neutrons as possible from the head of a rat, and to minimize the damage of other rays and thermal neutrons to non-irradiated portions.

Of course, in other tests, the animal irradiation device 20 may be used to test other animals 200 (e.g., mice, rabbits, etc.), or may be used to perform thermal neutron irradiation tests on other irradiation sites (e.g., tail, neck, etc.), although the purpose of the test is not limited to the toxicity test, and may be other test contents such as a therapeutic test, if necessary.

As shown in fig. 5, the animal housing mechanism 201 in the embodiment of the present application extends in an axis Y direction. The animal accommodation mechanism 201 is rectangular. Of course, in other alternative embodiments, the animal containment mechanism 201 may be in the form of a cylinder, cube, hexagon, or the like. The animal accommodation mechanism 201 has a first end (left end in fig. 5) and a second end (right end in fig. 5) opposite along the axis Y. The animal accommodation mechanism 201 is formed with a cavity 2012 inside. The cavity 2012 is for receiving the animal 200. And the cavity 2012 is open to the second end of the animal holding mechanism 201 so that the animal 200 held therein can partially protrude from the second end of the animal holding mechanism 201. Generally, the head, the trunk, and other parts of the rat are located outside the animal housing mechanism 201. While the remaining body parts (e.g., the remaining torso, organs within the abdomen, tails, etc.) are located within the animal containment mechanism 201.

In this embodiment, the animal housing mechanism 201 may be made of boron carbide (B ₄ C) or lithium carbonate (Li ₂CO₃) material. Boron carbide or lithium carbonate can absorb neutrons. Thus, the animal containment mechanism 201 may protect the region and organs of the rat within it, and in particular reduce neutron flux into the abdominal organs of the rat, reducing the dosage of the abdominal organs. Of course, the material of which the animal housing 201 is made may be selected according to practical needs, so long as it can shield the medium or other harmful rays or particles from the non-irradiated parts of the rat.

For convenience of work, a spacer 2011 for fixing a rat may be detachably provided in the animal housing mechanism 201. For example, the inner side wall of the animal housing mechanism 201 has a slot extending along its axis Y, and the spacer 2011 may be fixed inside the animal housing mechanism 201 by plugging the first end of the animal housing mechanism 201. Of course, in alternative embodiments, the spacer 2011 may be secured to the animal housing mechanism 201 by other removable means, such as snap-fit, bolting, bonding, riveting, etc. Thus, the rats can be fixed on the gasket 2011 by means of binding, bonding, bundling and the like, and the gasket 2011 is fixed inside the animal accommodation mechanism 201, so that the rats can be stably placed in the animal accommodation mechanism 201.

In view of the need to extend the body part of the rat part out of the animal housing mechanism 201 and further into the first shielding mechanism 202 and the second shielding mechanism 203, the spacer 2011 may also partially extend out of the animal housing mechanism 201 to extend into the first hole unit 2022 of the first shielding mechanism 202 and the second hole unit 2032 of the second shielding mechanism 203 after being fixed to the animal housing mechanism 201. Thus, the portion of the spacer 2011 extending beyond the animal containment mechanism 201 may provide support to the portion of the rat extending beyond the animal containment mechanism 201 to ensure that the rat is irradiated in a predetermined configuration.

Generally, for convenience of processing, the spacer 2011 is plate-shaped made of PMMA material. Of course, in other alternative embodiments, the shape and material of the spacer 2011 may be selected according to the actual situation.

In view of minimizing the time and complexity of the commissioning installation of the animal illuminating device 20, the animal housing means 201, the first shielding means 202 (described in detail below) located at the second end side of the animal housing means 201, and the second shielding means 203 (described in detail below) located at the second end side of the animal housing means 201 may be generally in a relatively fixed stable state. To avoid interference, the cavity 2012 extends from the first end to the second end of the animal housing mechanism 201, and the gasket 2011 is detachably connected to the animal housing mechanism 201 from the first end of the animal housing mechanism 201. Thereby, the pad 2011 provided with rats can be placed inside the animal accommodation mechanism 201 from the first end of the animal accommodation mechanism 201. After the irradiation operation is completed, the spacer 2011 may be removed from the first end of the animal housing mechanism 201.

Referring mainly to fig. 5 to 8, a first shielding mechanism 202 is located at a second end of the animal housing mechanism 201, and a first hole unit 2022 penetrating along the axis Y direction is formed in the first shielding mechanism 202. The first hole unit 2022 may be used to pass a portion of a rat, such as the neck, a portion of an upper body connected to the neck, and the like. The first hole unit 2022 is opposite to the cavity 2012 of the animal housing mechanism 201 in the axis Y direction. In other words, the projection of the first hole unit 2022 formed in a section perpendicular to the axis Y coincides at least partially with the projection of the cavity 2012 of the animal housing mechanism 201 formed in a section perpendicular to the axis Y. It is contemplated that the neck of the rat is generally smaller than the other torso portion of the rat. The projection of the first hole unit 2022 on a section directed perpendicular to the axis Y is generally within the projection range of the cavity 2012 of the animal housing mechanism 201 on a section directed perpendicular to the axis Y.

The first shielding mechanism 202 may be made of lead or lead alloy material. Since lead or lead alloy has a better shielding function for gamma rays, the first shielding mechanism 202 can reduce the amount of gamma rays received by the portion of the rat located in the animal housing mechanism 201, thereby reducing the gamma dose toxicity to organs such as abdominal organs. Of course, the material of the first shielding mechanism 202 may be selected according to practical needs, as long as it can shield gamma rays or other rays or particles harmful to the non-irradiated parts of the rat or other animal 200.

In a preferred embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, 8 and 9, considering that the neck and/or shoulder of the rat generally increases from the head to the tail thereof, in order to make the first hole unit 2022 adapt to the neck and/or shoulder of the rat as much as possible, the first shielding mechanism 202 includes at least two first shielding units 2021 arranged along the axis Y direction, and at least two first shielding units 2021 are formed with a first step portion 2023 for limiting the non-irradiated portion of the rat. The cross-sectional areas of the first hole units 2022 of any two adjacent first shielding units 2021 are gradually reduced from the first end to the second end, and the minimum cross-sectional area of the first hole units 2022 of all the first shielding units 2021 should also be larger than the head of the rat, so as to ensure that the rat can pass through the first shielding mechanism 202. The first step portion 2023 may be used by two adjacent first shielding units 2021 to constitute a wall surface (sectional line in the figure) of the first hole unit 2022The section lines are shown for illustration only and are not meant to be a practical matter) and one of the end faces of the first shielding element 2021 that is relatively adjacent to the animal housing means 201. In other words, after the rat is placed in the animal irradiating device 20, the gap formed between the wall surface of any one of the first shielding units 2021 for constituting the first hole unit 2022 and the maximum outer diameter of the neck or trunk of the rat is kept within a small range, so that the leakage of the radiation or particles generated through the gap is maintained within a low or allowable range. In the present embodiment, the number of the first shielding units 2021 is 2. Of course, in other alternative embodiments, the number of the first shielding units 2021 may be set to 3, 4, or other numbers as needed. The cross-sectional area of the first hole unit 2022 of each first shielding unit 2021 may also be adjusted according to the actual situation of the rat.

Referring primarily to fig. 5 and 8, the second shielding mechanism 203 is located at the second end of the first shielding mechanism 202, i.e., the second shielding mechanism 203 is located on a side of the first shielding mechanism 202 facing away from the animal accommodation mechanism 201 along the axis Y direction. The second shielding mechanism 203 is provided with a second hole unit 2032 penetrating along the axis Y. The second hole unit 2032 may be used for placement of a head of a rat. The second hole unit 2032 is opposite to the first hole unit 2022 in the axis Y direction. In other words, the projection of the second hole unit 2032 formed toward the section perpendicular to the axis Y coincides at least partially with the projection of the first hole unit 2022 formed toward the section perpendicular to the axis Y. Considering that the head of the rat is generally smaller than the other portions of the rat, the projection of the second hole unit 2032 formed toward the section perpendicular to the axis Y is generally within the projection range of the first hole unit 2022 formed toward the section perpendicular to the axis Y.

The second shielding mechanism 203 may be made of a graphite material. Graphite has a high neutron scattering cross section for thermal neutrons. Therefore, the second shielding mechanism 203 can increase the thermal neutron dose received by the head (mainly the brain) of the rat as much as possible, and accordingly, can reduce the thermal neutron dose irradiated to the non-irradiated portion of the rat. Of course, the material of the first shielding mechanism 202 may be selected according to actual needs, as long as it can better reflect thermal neutrons, so that the irradiated portion of the rat or other rats obtains more neutrons, and the non-irradiated portion is shielded from thermal neutrons.

In a preferred embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, 8 and 10, considering that the head of the rat generally increases gradually from the head to the tail thereof, in order to make the second hole unit 2032 fit as much as possible to the head of the rat, the second shielding mechanism 203 includes at least two second shielding units 2031 arranged along the axis Y, and the at least two second shielding units 2031 are formed with a second step 2033 for limiting the non-irradiated portion of the rat. The cross-sectional areas of the second hole units 2032 of any two adjacent second shielding units 2031 gradually decrease from the first end to the second end. The second step portion 2033 may be used by two adjacent second shielding units 2031 for constituting a wall surface (cross-sectional line in the drawing) of the second hole unit 2032The section lines are shown for illustration only and are not of practical significance) and one of the end faces of the second shielding unit 2031 that is relatively adjacent to the animal accommodation mechanism 201. In other words, after the rat is placed in the animal irradiation device 20, any one of the second shielding units 2031 is used to form a gap between the wall surface of the second hole unit 2032 and the head of the rat to be kept in a small range so as to enhance the reflection of thermal neutrons by the second shielding mechanism 203 as much as possible. In the present embodiment, the number of the second shielding units 2031 is 2. Of course, in other alternative embodiments, the number of the second shielding units 2031 may be set to 3,4 or other numbers as required. And the sectional area of the second hole unit 2032 of each second shielding unit 2031 may be adjusted according to the actual situation of the rat.

Based on the above-described structure, when the neutron beam N generated by the radiation source 10 is irradiated from the side of the second shielding mechanism 203 toward the rat, both the first gamma ray amount provided in the second shielding mechanism 203 (i.e., the gamma ray amount received by the irradiated portion of the rat located in the second shielding mechanism 203) and the second gamma ray amount provided in the animal housing mechanism 201 (i.e., the gamma ray amount received by the non-irradiated portion of the rat located in the animal housing mechanism 201) are in a lower satisfactory range. Of course, the second amount of gamma rays present in the animal containment mechanism 201 is less than the first amount of gamma rays present in the second shielding mechanism 203 under the influence of the first shielding mechanism 202. Meanwhile, under the action of the second shielding mechanism 203 and the animal housing mechanism 201, the first thermal neutron dose (i.e., the thermal neutron dose received by the irradiated portion of the rat located in the second shielding mechanism 203) provided in the second shielding mechanism 203 is much larger than the second thermal neutron dose (i.e., the thermal neutron dose received by the non-irradiated portion of the rat located in the animal housing mechanism 201) provided in the animal housing mechanism 201. And, the first thermal neutron dose provided in the second shielding mechanism 203 is maintained at a high level, satisfying test requirements such as toxicity tests. The second thermal neutron dose contained in the animal housing means 201 is maintained at a low or extremely low level, so that damage to the non-irradiated portions of the rat or other animal 200 can be minimized.

In other alternative embodiments, referring to fig. 11, a third shielding mechanism 207 may be provided at the second end of the second shielding mechanism 203. In other words, the third shielding mechanism 207 is located on a side of the second shielding mechanism 203 facing away from the first shielding mechanism 202 in the direction of the axis Y. The third shielding mechanism 207 can cover the first hole unit 2022. That is, the projection of the first hole unit 2022 formed toward the section perpendicular to the axis Y is entirely within the range of the third shielding mechanism 207. The third shielding mechanism 207 may be made of lead or lead alloy material. As previously described, lead or lead alloy provides a better shielding effect for gamma rays, and therefore, the third shielding mechanism 207 can shield gamma rays generated by processes such as target emission and neutron moderation, thereby reducing gamma dose toxicity caused by gamma rays to rats or other animals 200 to a greater extent.

In other alternative embodiments, as shown with reference to fig. 5 and 11, a slowing mechanism 204 may be provided at the second end of the third shielding mechanism 207. In other words, the slowing mechanism 204 is located on a side of the third shielding mechanism 207 facing away from the second shielding mechanism 203 in the direction of the axis Y. The slowing structure can cover the first hole unit 2022. That is, the projection of the first hole unit 2022 formed toward the section perpendicular to the axis Y is entirely within the range of the slowing mechanism 204. The moderating mechanism 204 may be made of a material having a relatively high neutron scattering cross section, such as a PMMA material. Thus, the slowing-down mechanism 204 can further sufficiently slow down neutrons to reduce the energy of the neutron beam N emitted from the radiation source 10 to a level suitable for irradiation by rats. Of course, the material of the slowing mechanism 204 may be selected according to the actual needs, as long as it can achieve the slowing effect and meets the irradiation requirements of the rat or other animal 200.

In some application scenarios, it is often desirable to irradiate multiple animals 200 (e.g., rats) simultaneously for comparative reference studies. For example, the same dose may be administered to rats of different weights, or different doses may be administered to rats of the same weight, or a comparable dose may be administered to rats of different weights.

Thus, in an alternative embodiment, as shown with reference to fig. 5 and 12, the number of animal containment mechanisms 201 may be a plurality, at least 2. That is, the number of the animal housing mechanisms 201 may be set to 2,3, 6, etc. according to actual needs. Accordingly, each animal accommodation mechanism 201 is also necessarily provided with a corresponding first hole unit 2022 and second hole unit 2032.

Referring to fig. 12 and 13, the animal irradiation device 20 may further include a housing 205, wherein a bracket 206 is disposed in the housing 205, the bracket 206 includes a first rod unit 2061 connected to an inner sidewall of the housing 205 and a second rod unit 2062 connected to the first rod unit 2061, the second rod unit 2062 includes a plurality of rods arranged at intervals in a direction perpendicular to the axis Y, and the plurality of animal housing mechanisms 201 are disposed on the corresponding rods, respectively. Thus, the housing 205 and the rack 206 can integrate all of the animal containment mechanisms 201 therein for easy access. The plurality of animal housing mechanisms 201 may be reasonably arranged in a cross-sectional area perpendicular to the axis Y by bonding, binding, or clamping with the second rod unit 2062. It is contemplated that a plurality of the animal accommodation mechanisms 201 may be uniformly arranged in the circumferential direction in order to obtain substantially the same thermal neutron dose for each rat or animal.

In the present embodiment, referring mainly to fig. 12 and 13, the housing 205 has a cylindrical shape. The first lever unit 2061 has an arc shape that is attached to the inner wall of the housing 205. The rod member of each of the second rod units 2062 is fixed to the first rod unit 2061 by a fixing device such as a screw or a bolt. The number of the animal accommodation mechanisms 201 is 6. The 6 animal accommodation mechanisms 201 are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction. Accordingly, the second rod unit 2062 includes three rows of rod members. Two animal accommodation mechanisms 201 are arranged on each row of bars. Of course, the number of animal holding mechanisms 201 and the number of bars may also be adjusted according to actual needs. For example, the number of animal accommodation mechanisms 201 may be 4. The second rod unit 2062 includes 2 rows of rod members. Or the number of the animal accommodation mechanisms 201 may be 8. The second rod unit 2062 includes 4 rows of rod members. In addition, in other alternative embodiments, the arrangement of the plurality of animal accommodation mechanisms 201 may be selected according to actual needs, for example, may be in a rectangular array, a linear array, or other array forms.

The second rod unit 2062 may be made of a metal material such as an aluminum alloy in consideration of the strength of the bracket 206. The housing 205 may be made of PMMA material in consideration of material cost, portability, ease of processing, and the like. As shown in fig. 5, accordingly, in order to achieve both the self strength and the connection strength with the housing 205, the first rod unit 2061 may include a main body portion 2063 made of a metal material and a fitting portion 2064 made of a PMMA material. The fitting portion 2064 may be fitted over the outer side of the body portion 2063. The fitting portion 2064 may be firmly coupled to the housing 205 by adhesion.

In the present embodiment, as shown with reference to fig. 11 and 12, each first shielding unit 2021 of the first shielding mechanism 202 has a plate shape, and each first shielding unit 2021 is provided with a first hole unit 2022 corresponding to the animal housing mechanism 201. Each second shielding unit 2031 in the second shielding mechanism 203 is plate-shaped, and each second shielding unit 2031 is provided with a second hole unit 2032 corresponding to the first hole unit 2022. The third shielding mechanism 207 and the slowing mechanism 204 extend in the axis Y direction and can cover all of the first hole units 2022. Specifically, the two adjacent first shielding units 2021 and the two adjacent second shielding units 2031, the second shielding units 2031 and the third shielding mechanism 207, the third shielding mechanism 207 and the slowing mechanism 204 may be fastened by bonding, clamping, bolting, or the like.

In an alternative embodiment, referring to fig. 11 and 12, the outer edge of the slowing mechanism 204 is raised 2041 toward one side of the housing 205 to form a recess 2042 for receiving the third shielding mechanism 207. The third shielding mechanism 207 may be disc-shaped and disposed within the recess 2042 of the slowing mechanism 204. The second shielding mechanism 203 and the first shielding mechanism 202 may have a disc shape, and are embedded in the housing 205, and the housing 205 may be sealed and attached to the slowing mechanism 204 by an outer edge of the slowing mechanism 204. With this structure, it is sufficient to ensure that the outer diameter of the slowing mechanism 204 and the outer diameter of the housing 205 are substantially the same or the same.

In another alternative embodiment, the second end of the housing 205 has a flange, and the first shielding mechanism 202 may be bonded to the housing 205 by the flange. The first shielding mechanism 202 and the second shielding mechanism 203 may be connected by bonding or the like. The third shielding mechanism 207 and the second shielding mechanism 203 may be connected by bonding or the like. The slowing mechanism 204 and the third shielding mechanism 207 may be connected by bonding or the like.

Preferably, the outer diameters of the slowing mechanism 204, the third shielding mechanism 207, the second shielding mechanism 203, the first shielding mechanism 202, and the housing 205 are substantially the same or the same in consideration of uniformity of the outer dimensions.

As shown in connection with fig. 3,4, 5 and 12, an embodiment of the present application also discloses an animal irradiation system 100 comprising:

A radiation source 10 for generating radiation, the radiation source 10 including a beam hole having a predetermined aperture; the radiation source 10 in this embodiment may include a neutron generator 11, a beam shaping body 12, and a collimator 13, where the beam hole is a beam outlet disposed on the collimator 13; in another embodiment, no collimator may be provided, and the beam aperture is a beam outlet provided on the beam shaper 12.

As with the animal irradiation device 20 described above, the animal irradiation device 20 can be positioned within the beam aperture or beam outlet.

With the above structure, the animal irradiating apparatus 20 has a diameter identical to that of the BSA beam outlet, and can be placed just inside the BSA beam outlet without using an additional fixing apparatus, and the position is kept unchanged.

The maximum outer diameter of the animal irradiation device 20 is the same as or similar to the preset aperture of the beam hole. It will be appreciated that the maximum outer diameter of the animal irradiation device 20 is infinitely close to the predetermined aperture of the beam aperture, provided that the animal irradiation device is positioned in the beam aperture. In other words, a certain gap may be formed between the animal irradiating apparatus 20 and the beam hole, but the gap formed by the two may be controlled to be within a minimum or small allowable range.

In the foregoing example, when the first shielding mechanism 202 and the second shielding mechanism 203 are located inside the housing 205, the maximum outer diameters of the housing 205 and the slowing mechanism 204 may be considered as the maximum outer diameter of the animal irradiating apparatus 20.

In the foregoing example, when the outer diameters of the slowing mechanism 204, the third shielding mechanism 207, the second shielding mechanism 203, the first shielding mechanism 202, and the housing 205 are the same or substantially the same, the largest outer diameter of these components may be considered as the largest outer diameter of the animal irradiating device 20.

In a preferred embodiment, the centerline of the beam aperture (X-axis in fig. 3) coincides with the centerline of the slowing mechanism 204, the centerline of the third shielding mechanism 207, the centerline of the second shielding mechanism 203, the centerline of the first shielding mechanism 202, and the centerline of the housing 205. In practice, the coincidence here may also have a certain error within the allowable range. In addition, the plurality of animal housing mechanisms 201 may be arranged in a circumferential direction centered on the center line (X-axis in fig. 3) of the beam hole.

In summary, the application has the following advantages:

1. The first shielding mechanism 202 and the second shielding mechanism 203 can adjust the neutron beam N flow to optimize the dose distribution in the animal 200;

2. The animal containment mechanism 201 may be made of a material capable of absorbing neutrons to protect organs of the animal 200, particularly organs within the abdomen of a rat;

3. The housing 205 and the bracket 206 may serve the purpose of fixedly supporting the animal containment mechanism 201;

4. The first step 2023 and/or the second step 2033 each take into account the physical morphological characteristics of the animal 200, particularly the rat, thereby making it more suitable for the actual working situation;

5. the third shielding mechanism 207 and the moderating mechanism 204 can control and protect the dose to the head of the animal 200, the moderating mechanism 204 moderates neutrons sufficiently, and the third shielding mechanism 207 can shield gamma rays.

The above disclosure is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, so that all equivalent technical changes made by the specification and drawings of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention.

Various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner, and identical or similar parts are all provided for each embodiment, each embodiment focusing on differences from other embodiments. The application is operational with numerous general purpose or special purpose computer system environments or configurations. For example: personal computers, server computers, hand-held or portable devices, tablet devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable electronic devices, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

Although the present application has been described by way of examples, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that there are many variations and modifications of the present application without departing from the spirit of the application, and it is intended that the appended embodiments encompass such variations and modifications without departing from the application.

Claims

1. An animal irradiation device, comprising:

2. The animal irradiation device of claim 1, wherein the animal containment mechanism is made of a boron carbide or lithium carbonate material; the first shielding mechanism is made of lead or lead alloy materials; the second shielding mechanism is made of graphite material.

3. The animal irradiation device of claim 1, wherein the cavity is open to the second end of the animal holding mechanism, a spacer for limiting the animal is provided in the animal holding mechanism, and the spacer sequentially extends into the cavity, the first hole unit and the second hole unit from the first end of the animal holding mechanism.

4. The animal irradiation apparatus of claim 3 wherein the cavity of the animal containment mechanism is open toward the first end of the animal containment mechanism and the spacer is removably attached to the animal containment mechanism from the first end of the animal containment mechanism.

5. The animal irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the animal housing means has a plurality, the first shielding means is provided with a plurality of first hole units in one-to-one correspondence with the animal housing means, and the second shielding means is provided with a plurality of second hole units in one-to-one correspondence with the first hole units.

6. The animal irradiation apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a center line of the cavity of the animal accommodation mechanism, a center line of the first hole unit corresponding to the cavity of the animal accommodation mechanism, and a center line of the second hole unit corresponding to the first hole unit coincide.

7. The animal irradiation device according to claim 5, further comprising a housing, a bracket provided in the housing, the bracket including a first lever unit connected to an inner side wall of the housing and a second lever unit connected to the first lever unit, the second lever unit including a plurality of lever members arranged at intervals in a direction perpendicular to the axis, the plurality of animal housing mechanisms being provided on the respective lever members.

8. The animal irradiation device according to claim 7, wherein the first lever unit includes a main body portion made of a metal material and a fitting portion fitted to an inner side wall of the housing and connected to the main body portion, and the housing and the fitting portion are made of a PMMA material.

9. The animal irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second shielding mechanism includes at least two second shielding units arranged in the axial direction, at least two of the second shielding units being formed with a second step portion for restricting an irradiation site of the animal.

10. The animal irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first shielding mechanism includes at least two first shielding units arranged in the axial direction, at least two of the first shielding units being formed with a first step portion for restricting a non-irradiation portion of the animal.

11. The animal irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second shielding mechanism includes at least two second shielding units arranged in the axial direction, at least two of the second shielding units being formed with a second step portion for restricting a head of an animal; the first shielding mechanism comprises at least two first shielding units which are arranged along the axis direction, and the at least two first shielding units are formed with first step parts for limiting the neck and/or the shoulder of the animal.

12. The animal irradiation device of claim 1, further comprising a third shielding mechanism capable of covering at least the first hole unit, the third shielding mechanism being located on a side of the second shielding mechanism facing away from the first shielding mechanism in the axial direction.

13. The animal irradiation device of claim 12, wherein the third shielding mechanism is made of lead or lead alloy material.

14. The animal irradiation device of claim 13, further comprising a slowing mechanism capable of covering at least the first aperture unit, the slowing mechanism being located on a side of the third shielding mechanism facing away from the second shielding mechanism in the axial direction.

15. The animal irradiation device of claim 14, wherein the slowing mechanism is made of PMMA material.

16. An animal irradiation system, comprising:

the animal irradiation device of any one of claim 1 to 15, which is capable of being placed in the beam hole,