Heavy-ions shielding data for hadrontherapy application with Monte Carlo methods.

In hadrontherapy centers, ion beams are accelerated by a cyclotron or synchrotron through electric and magnetic fields and, once the treatment energy is reached, ions interact with the patient. The interaction of the beam with magnets, other elements of particle accelerator or with the patient generates secondary radiation and the calculation for the design of the shielding is required. A first assessment of the shielding, generally made by concrete, can be performed by using Monte Carlo simulations, in which neutron yields and the ambient dose equivalent, H*(10), spatial distribution are obtained.