Proceedings of the Japan Academy, Series B
Online ISSN : 1349-2896
Print ISSN : 0386-2208
ISSN-L : 0386-2208
Original Articles
Feasibility studies towards future self-sufficient supply of the 99Mo-99mTc isotopes with Japanese accelerators
Kozi NAKAI Naruto TAKAHASHIJun HATAZAWAAtsushi SHINOHARAYoshihiko HAYASHIHayato IKEDAYasukazu KANAITadashi WATABEMitsuhiro FUKUDAKichiji HATANAKA
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2014 Volume 90 Issue 10 Pages 413-421

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Abstract

In order to establish a self-sufficient supply of 99mTc, we studied feasibilities to produce its parent nucleus, 99Mo, using Japanese accelerators. The daughter nucleus, 99mTc, is indispensable for medical diagnosis. 99Mo has so far been imported from abroad, which is separated from fission products generated in nuclear reactors using enriched 235U fuel. We investigated 99mTc production possibilities based on the following three scenarios: (1) 99Mo production by the (n, 2n) reaction by spallation neutrons at the J-PARC injector, LINAC; (2) 99Mo production by the (p, pn) reaction at Ep = 50–80 MeV proton at the RCNP cyclotron; (3) 99mTc direct production with a 20 MeV proton beam from the PET cyclotron. Among these three scenarios, scenario (1) is for a scheme on a global scale, scenario (2) works in a local area, and both cases take a long time for negotiations. Scenario (3) is attractive because we can use nearly 50 PET cyclotrons in Japan for 99mTc production. We here consider both the advantages and disadvantages among the three scenarios by taking account of the Japanese accelerator situation.

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© 2014 The Japan Academy
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