Reactor-produced radioisotopes for nuclear medicine applications

Reactors represent an important resource for production of a large variety of radioisotopes for use in both diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine. A high neutron flux is an important parameter for radioisotope production via the (n,γ), (n,p) and double neutron capture reactions. Examples of radioisotopes produced by the direct (n,γ) route are Re-186 and Pt-195m. Also, direct production via the (n,p) reaction provides Cu-67 for therapy and Sr-90 is an important fission product which is the parent for Y-90. In addition, a number of important parents for radionuclide generator such as Os-191 (Ir-191m) are produced in reactors. One example of an important neutron-deficient radionuclide for PET is Cu-64, produced via either the Cu-63 (n,γ) or Zn-64 (n,p) routes. Also, the availability of parent radioisotopes such as W-188 and Os-194 by double neutron capture is important for the availability of Re-188 and Ir-194 from generators for therapeutic applications. The production capabilities of the ORNL High Flux Reactor (HFIR) and other research reactors are discussed