Isotopes for health care

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Medical isotopes on their way to the hospitals of the world.

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Life Cycle innovations & Isotopes -
Isotopes Production in Petten

Technetium (Tc-99m) is the most widely used radioisotope in nuclear medicine. It accounts for 80% of all diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures. This amounts to 7 million diagnoses per year in Europa and 8 million per year in the USA.
The present world demand for molybdenum (Mo-99), the parent radioisotope of Tc-99m, is estimated at 6000 to 7000 Ci per week. Most of the world's supply of Mo is produced by fissioning of U-235 in highly enriched uranium targets. In Petten the High Flux Reactor (HFR) is used for this purpose.

Major producer of molybdenum

NRG, in close co-operation with the Joint Research Center (JRC) of the EU and Tyco (owner of Mallinckrodt Medical), is one of the largest producers of molybdenum.

Wide range of isotopes

A wide range of radioisotopes is produced on a routine basis and transported to several pharmaceutical industries. Present nuclear medicine developments in oncology are making use of NRG competences and facilities and represent an essential contribution to health care.

Contact

Kevin Charlton, NRG Business Development & Sales
PO Box 25, 1755 ZG Petten, the Netherlands
tel: +31 224 564933, fax: +31 224 568490
e-mail: charlton@nrg.eu

List of isotopes produced in Petten and applications

 Isotope  Half-life  Medical application
 Molybdenum-99/
Technetium-99m		  2.75 days /
0.25 days 		 Diagnostic imaging for a broad range of serious medical conditions including oncology -- all areas, cardiology -- heart function and viability, kidney function, brain function, brain disorders, lung function, infection detection, thyroid function, bone disorders
 Iodine-131  8.04 days  Therapy isotope for thyroid ablation (hyperthyroidism), thyroid cancer therapy, cancer therapy solid and diffuse tumours, e.g. attached to monoclonal antibodies
 Xenon-133  5.25 days  Diagnostic imaging for lung function
 Strontium-89  50.5 days  Therapy isotope for metastatic bone pain relief
 Iridium-192  73.8 days  Therapy isotope for cancer therapy, e.g. cervical cancer, lung cancer (high dose rate brachytherapy) using remote loaded sources and head and neck cancer, tongue and mouth cancer (low dose rate brachytherapy) using iridio­platinum wires and needles.
Preventive therapy isotope for e.g. restenosis prevention in blood vessels using remote loaded sources.
 Samarium-153  1.95 days  Therapy isotope for metastatic bone pain relief (palliative care) and in development for treatment of bone cancers.
Development isotope for new therapies .
 Rhenium-186  3.78 days  Therapy isotope for metastatic bone pain relief.
Development isotope for new therapies.
 Iodine-125  60.1 days  Therapy isotope for prostate cancer therapy by seed implantation and for eye cancer therapy by ophthalmic applicator.
 Yttrium-90  2.67 days  Therapy isotope for treatment of arthritic conditions by synovial joint injection and for metastatic bone pain relief (palliative care).
 Erbium-169  9.40 days  Development isotope for new therapies.
Therapy isotope for treatment of arthritic conditions by synovial joint injection (smaller joints).
 Lutetium-177  6.71 days  Therapy isotope for cancer therapy of solid tumours by injection of labelled peptides.
 Holmium-166  1.12 days  Therapy isotope for development of liver cancer treatment by injection of PLA microspheres.
Used in clinical trial in Europe of new blood cancer treatment.
Development isotope for new therapies.