A NOVEL ACCELERATOR FOR RADIOISOTOPE PRODUCTION FOR PET

A NOVEL ACCELERATOR IS PROPOSED TO PROVIDE LOW-ENERGY DEUTERON BEAMS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF SHORT-LIVED RADIO- ISOTOPES FOR POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY. THIS ACCELERATORWILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING THE CLINICALLY REQUIRED ACTIVITIES OF 15O IN SOLID TARGETS AND WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLYLESS COSTLY AND EASIER TO OPERATE THAN THE CYCLOTRON ACCELERATOR FACILITIES CURRENTLY IN USE. THIS WILL MAKE POSSIBLE MORE WIDESPREAD USE OF POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHYIN HOSPITALS IN THE UNITED STATES. THE PROPOSED CASCADE TANDEM ACCELERATOR (CTA) COMBINES TWO EXISTING ELECTROSTATICACCELERATION TECHNIQUES TO PROVIDE 100 UA DEUTERON BEAMS AT ENERGIES OF 2 TO 3 MEV. CALCULATIONS INDICATE THAT SUCH A BEAM IS CAPABLE OF PROVIDING ACTIVITIES OF UP TO 500 MCI OF 15O IN LITHIUM NITRIDE TARGETS. THE CTA COMPRISES A MULTI- STAGE CASCADE RECTIFIER SURROUNDING A DC ACCELERATING COLUMN. DEUTERONS ARE INJECTED INTO THE COLUMN AS NEGATIVE IONS AND ARE ACCELERATED TO THE HIGH-VOLTAGE TERMINAL. THERE, THEY ARE STRIPPED AND ACCELERATED AGAIN AS POSITIVE IONS TO THE TARGET CHAMBER. THIS STUDY WILL ADDRESS THE CRITICAL TECHNICAL ISSUES RELEVANT TO THE DESIGN OF THE CTA.A COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS WILL BE PERFORMED COMPARING THE CTA TO CYCLOTRON FACILITIES PRESENTLY AVAILABLE. IN LATER PHASES OF THE PROGRAM, A CTA MAY BE BUILT AND TESTED AND SUBSEQUENTLY USED TO DEMONSTRATE TARGET ACTIVATION FOR THE PRODUCTION OF 15O.