High-throughput cyclotron target manufacturing

Molecular imaging (MI) is a tool designed to help clinicians better understand disease, and potentiates effective clinical patient management through efficient diagnoses, patient stratification and monitoring of treatment response. As such, MI has a rapidly emerging role in the transition toward personalized medicine. One key enabler of MI are radioisotopes, many of which are produced using hospital-based particle accelerators, called cyclotrons. Cyclotron-based isotope production is rapidly increasing in importance as a number of new positron-emitting radiopharmaceuticals (pharmaceuticals labeled with radioisotopes) are coming to market. Gallium-68 (68Ga) is one emerging isotope that is experiencing rapid community adoption, particularly as a companion diagnostic in the realm of prostate and neuroendocrine tumor therapies. 68Ga-PSMA and 68Ga-DOTATATE are two examples which, to date, have relied on a clinical 68Ga supply enabled via the germanium-68 (68Ge)/68Ga generator. However, these generators are experiencing supply challenges, which when coupled to their limited isotope output, has several prominent radiopharmaceutical companies exploring novel methods for producing more isotope. ARTMS has developed a particle-accelerator (cyclotron) based solution that enables 100-fold higher 68Ga production by irradiating enriched zinc-68 (68Zn) with accelerated protons. A high-throughput method to manufacture 68Zn cyclotron targets is needed in order to meet looming demand.

Faculty Supervisor:

Paul Schaffer

Student:

Partner:

ARTMS

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

TRIUMF

Program: