[en] The fabrication of the isotopes used in nuclear medicine is mainly made in research reactors. Furthermore reactors are necessary for the production of Mo⁹⁹ whose daughter nucleus Tc⁹⁹ is used in 80% of medical diagnostics worldwide. Today about 50 reactors produce medical radionuclides but only 15 of them, the most powerful ones, supply the international market. As soon as the fifties, CEA has been producing radionuclides, first in the Zoe reactor and then unceasingly in its successive experimental reactors: EL2, EL3 in Saclay, Melusine, Siloe in Grenoble and Osiris and Orphee again in Saclay. The Jules Horowitz reactor under construction in Cadarache will take over in a few years. Radiochemistry plays an important role in the extraction and purification of the radionuclide. (A.C.)

[en] The main tools for the production of radionuclides for medicine are nuclear reactors and accelerators especially cyclotrons and linear accelerators. About 30 reactors over the world share isotope production. Two types of reactors are used to produce radio-nuclides: experimental reactors and neutron source reactors. In a reactor, radionuclides are produced through either fission reactions or neutron activation reactions. For instance the Technetium-99 whose daughter isotope Molybdenum-99 is used in scintigraphy is produced through the fission of Uranium-235 target, its fission yield being over 6%. The most important experimental reactors having a radioisotope production program are HFR (45 MW, The Netherlands), BR2 (100 MW, Belgium), NRU (135 MW, Canada), MARIA (30 MW, Poland), LVR-15 (10 MW, Czech Republic), SAFARI-1 (20 MW, South-Africa) and FRM-II (20 MW, Germany). Neutron source reactors are less powerful a few MW and produce radionuclides through neutron activation reactions. In France 2 neutron source reactors produce radionuclides for medicine: the Orphee reactor (14 MW, at Saclay) and the RHF (58 MW at Grenoble). (A.C.)

[en] The isotope production program has, for many years, formed the cornerstone of the commercial activities of the Atomic Energy Corporation of South Africa Ltd (AEC). This program dates back to the early 1970s, when ¹³¹I was produced by the well-known method of irradiating tellurium oxide and, subsequently, distilling off the ¹³¹I. This has enabled the AEC to supply the bulk of South African and some international medical iodine requirements for the past 26 yr

No abstract available

[en] This presentation gives a perspective on medical radionuclide production methods from INVAP, Argentina. INVAP is a company headquartered in Argentina and is involved amongst other activities in nuclear, medical and scientific equipment. It describes INVAP's involvement in research reactor projects in a number of countries around the world. The paper describes a number of turn-key facilities for the production of radioisotopes for medicine, industry and research activities.

[en] This presentation describes a dual purpose research facility at the University of Saskatchewan for Canada for the production of medical isotopes and neutrons for scientific research. The proposed research reactor is intended to supply most of Canada's medical isotope requirements and provide a neutron source for Canada's research community. Scientific research would include materials research, biomedical research and imaging.

No abstract available

[en] Technetium-99m generated from the decay of ⁹⁹Mo has been a dominant radioisotope widely used in diagnostic medical applications. Because of its short half-life, ⁹⁹Mo cannot be stock-piled. Therefore, a constant and stable supply of ⁹⁹Mo is a crucial factor in worldwide medical industry. However, commercial production of ⁹⁹Mo has been dependent upon one Canadian reactor almost exclusively. To build a regional backup supply facility, some countries tried to use their research reactors for molybdenum production. Among several production methods, the most stable production process in the United States is known to be the Cintichem process, in which a highly enriched uranium (HEU) fuel target is irradiated and its fission products are dissolved, separated, and purified by chemical treatment. Recently, the use of low-enriched uranium (LEU) for the research reactors has been advocated and agreed upon by many countries. A new target design for LEU was tested by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) with a comparable performance index

[en] The significant worldwide increase in therapeutic radioisotope applications in nuclear medicine, oncology and interventional cardiology requires the dependable production of sufficient levels of radioisotopes for these applications (Reba, 2000; J. Nucl. Med., 1998; Nuclear News, 1999; Adelstein and Manning, 1994). The issues associated with both accelerator- and reactor-production of therapeutic radioisotopes is important. Clinical applications of therapeutic radioisotopes include the use of both sealed sources and unsealed radiopharmaceutical sources. Targeted radiopharmaceutical agents include those for cancer therapy and palliation of bone pain from metastatic disease, ablation of bone marrow prior to stem cell transplantation, treatment modalities for mono and oligo- and polyarthritis, for cancer therapy (including brachytherapy) and for the inhibition of the hyperplastic response following coronary angioplasty and other interventional procedures (For example, see Volkert and Hoffman, 1999). Sealed sources involve the use of radiolabeled devices for cancer therapy (brachytherapy) and also for the inhibition of the hyperplasia which is often encountered after angioplasty, especially with the exponential increase in the use of coronary stents and stents for the peripheral vasculature and other anatomical applications. Since neutron-rich radioisotopes often decay by beta decay or decay to beta-emitting daughter radioisotopes which serve as the basis for radionuclide generator systems, reactors are expected to play an increasingly important role for the production of a large variety of therapeutic radioisotopes required for these and other developing therapeutic applications. Because of the importance of the availability of reactor-produced radioisotopes for these applications, an understanding of the contribution of neutron spectra for radioisotope production and determination of those cross sections which have not yet been established is important. This contribution will focus on the issues associated with the reactor-production of therapeutic radioisotopes of current and projected interest

[en] The technical and economical availability of radioisotopes production in Brazil by a low power research reactor, are done. The importance of radioisotope utilization and controled radiations, in areas such as medicine, industry and cost evaluation for the production in nuclear reactors. In the cost evaluation of a radioisotope production reactor, the studies developed by the Department of Nuclear Engineering of Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - DEN/UFMG were used. The information analysis justify the technical and economical availability and the necessity of the radioisotopes production in Brazil. (E.G.)