Development of a compact neutron spectrometer based on multi-element activation

In recent years, due to the introduction of accelerator-based facilities, the interest of the medical and scientific communities in the Boron Neutron Capture Theraphy (BNCT) dramatically increased. As far as beam diagnostics is concerned, the availability of spectrometry techniques adapted to BNCT is required for quality assurance and daily control measurements. This work aims to present a novel compact spectrometer with an isotropic response called Neutron Capture Therapy- Activation Compact Spectrometer (NCT-ACS), funded by INFN, highly sensitive in the energy interval ranging from thermal to 100 keV and suitable for in-phantom irradiation. The detector characteristics and the experimental results collected at the Torino neutron facility are shown.