Radionuclide production for PET with a linear electrostatic accelerator

A new type of linear electrostatic accelerator for the production of short-lived radionuclides for PET has been developed at Science Research Laboratory. The tandem cascade accelerator (TCA) is a low energy (3.7 MeV) proton and deuteron accelerator which can generate the four short-lived PET radionuclides in the quantities required for clinical use. The compact size, low weight, low power consumption and reduced radiation shielding requirements of the TCA result in a significant reduction in capital and operating costs when compared with higher energy cyclotron-based systems. Radioisotope target for the production of O-15, F-18, N-13 and C-11 have been designed specifically for use with the low energy TCA beam. A simple to use PC-based computer control system allows fully automated system operation and advanced scheduling of isotope production. Operating experience with the TCA and its PET radionuclide targets is described