The CCHEN's cyclotron radioisotope programme and its impact after two years of operation

Full text: The Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission (CCHEN) through its brand new Cyclotron Laboratory has introduced cyclotron-produced short-lived radionuclides and its radiopharmaceuticals for the first time in Chile. Neutron deficient radionuclides are now routinely available upon request for PET diagnosis procedures The Cyclotron Laboratory has been conceived upon an IBA's Cyclone 18/9 accelerator. Accelerated beam particles are protons (18 MeV) and deuterons (9 MeV) with intensities up to 60 and 40 μA, respectively. The machine is housed in its Cyclotron Vault, 18 ft below ground level. An external transport beam line connects to an Experimental Area for further atomic or nuclear physics charged particles beam, non radionuclidic production, applications purposes. In addition to the provided external beam line, there are seven internal targets fully dedicated to production. Two targets (large and small oxygen-18 enriched-water capacity) are currently dedicated routinely to Fluoride-18 production. The produced activities are transferred remotely to the Hot Cells Laboratory to label selected molecules. A second small volume target will be acquired and installed in the near future to warrant expected radionuclide availability. Products from short lived positron emitters such as 18F-fluordeoxyglucose and 18F-sodium fluoride are used at present for radiopharmaceutical applications such as medical evaluation of a patient's health and, also, to carry out clinical research. Furthermore, radioisotope and radiopharmaceutical products under development include Galium-67 in the form of 67Ga-Citrate and 67Ga-chloride. Development of 11C organic derivatives and, later on, 62Cu from a 62Zn generator is expected to start sometime in the future. The present work will present how the introduction of cyclotron's technology and guaranteed availability of short lived positron emitters radioisotopes can have a positive impact on nuclear medicine practice. As of today, with more than one thousand PET diagnoses already performed using 18FDG, nuclear medicine and, primarily, oncologist physicians are assembling a data base with the most significant results and improvements for precise oncology stage determination. It is, indeed, quite evident for patients to have an ambulatory non-invasive option for prognosis, while, at the same time, improving their quality of life. (author)