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Recent acute shortage of medical radioisotopes prompted investigations into alternative methods of production and the use of a cyclotron and ¹⁰⁰Mo(p,2n)(99m)Tc reaction has been considered. In this context, the production yields of (99m)Tc and various other radioactive and stable isotopes which will be created in the process have to be investigated, as these may affect the diagnostic outcome and radiation dosimetry in human studies. Reaction conditions (beam and target characteristics, and irradiation and cooling times) need to be optimized in order to maximize the amount of (99m)Tc and minimize impurities. Although ultimately careful experimental verification of these conditions must be performed, theoretical calculations can provide the initial guidance allowing for extensive investigations at little cost. We report the results of theoretically determined reaction yields for (99m)Tc and other radioactive isotopes created when natural and enriched molybdenum targets are irradiated by protons. The cross-section calculations were performed using a computer program EMPIRE for the proton energy range 6-30 MeV. A computer graphical user interface for automatic calculation of production yields taking into account various reaction channels leading to the same final product has been created. The proposed approach allows us to theoretically estimate the amount of (99m)Tc and its ratio relative to (99g)Tc and other radioisotopes which must be considered reaction contaminants, potentially contributing to additional patient dose in diagnostic studies.

99m Tc is currently produced by an aging fleet of nuclear reactors, which require enriched uranium and generate nuclear waste. We report the development of a comprehensive solution to produce 99m Tc in sufficient quantities to supply a large urban area using a single medical cyclotron. Methods: A new target system was designed for 99m Tc production. Target plates made of tantalum were coated with a layer of 100 Mo by electrophoretic deposition followed by high-temperature sintering. The targets were irradiated with 18-MeV protons for up to 6 h, using a medical cyclotron. The targets were automatically retrieved and dissolved in 30% H 2 O 2 . 99m Tc was purified by solid-phase extraction or biphasic exchange chromatography. Results: Between 1.04 and 1.5 g of 100 Mo were deposited on the tantalum plates. After high-temperature sintering, the 100 Mo formed a hard, adherent layer that bonded well with the backing surface. The targets were irradiated for 1-6.9 h at 20-240 μA of proton beam current, producing up to 348 GBq (9.4 Ci) of 99m Tc. The resulting pertechnetate passed all standard quality control procedures and could be used to reconstitute typical anionic, cationic, and neutral technetium radiopharmaceutical kits. Conclusion: The direct production of 99m Tc via proton bombardment of 100 Mo can be practically achieved in high yields using conventional medical cyclotrons. With some modifications of existing cyclotron infrastructure, this approach can be used to implement a decentralized medical isotope production model. This method eliminates the need for enriched uranium and the radioactive waste associated with the processing of uranium targets.

BackgroundCamera calibration, which translates reconstructed count map into absolute activity map, is a prerequisite procedure for quantitative SPECT imaging. Both planar and tomographic scans using different phantom geometries have been proposed for the determination of the camera calibration factor (CF). However, there is no consensus on which approach is the best. The aim of this study is to evaluate all these calibration methods, compare their performance, and propose a practical and accurate calibration method for SPECT quantitation of therapeutic radioisotopes. Twenty-one phantom experiments (Siemens Symbia SPECT/CT) and 12 Monte Carlo simulations (GATE v6.1) using three therapy isotopes (131I, 177Lu, and 188Re) have been performed. The following phantom geometries were used: (1) planar scans of point source in air (PS), (2) tomographic scans of insert(s) filled with activity placed in non-radioactive water (HS + CB), (3) tomographic scans of hot insert(s) in radioactive water (HS + WB), and (4) tomographic scans of cylinders uniformly filled with activity (HC). Tomographic data were reconstructed using OSEM with CT-based attenuation correction and triple energy window (TEW) scatter correction, and CF was determined using total counts in the reconstructed image, while for planar scans, the photopeak counts, corrected for scatter and background with TEW, were used. Additionally, for simulated data, CF obtained from primary photons only was analyzed.ResultsFor phantom experiments, CF obtained from PS and HS + WB agreed to within 6% (below 3% if experiments performed on the same day are considered). However, CF from HS + CB exceeded those from PS by 4–12%. Similar trend was found in simulation studies. Analysis of CFs from primary photons helped us to understand this discrepancy. It was due to underestimation of scatter by the TEW method, further enhanced by attenuation correction. This effect becomes less important when the source is distributed over the entire phantom volume (HS + WB and HC).ConclusionsCamera CF could be determined using planar scans of a point source, provided that the scatter and background contributions are removed, for example using the clinically available TEW method. This approach is simple and yet provides CF with sufficient accuracy (~ 5%) to be used in clinics for radiotracer quantification.

Due to challenges in performing routine personalized dosimetry in radiopharmaceutical therapies, interest in single-time-point (STP) dosimetry, particularly utilizing only one SPECT scan, is on the rise.Meanwhile, there are questions about reliability of STP dosimetry, with limited independent validations.In the present work, we analyze two STP dosimetry methods and evaluate dose errors for a number of radiopharmaceuticals based on effective half-life distributions. Method:We first challenged the common assumption that radiopharmaceutical effective half-lives across the population are Gaussian (normal) distributed. Then, dose accuracy was estimated based on two STP dosimetry methods for a wide range of potential scan-times post-injection (p.i.), for different radiopharmaceuticals applied to neuroendocrine tumors and prostate cancer. The accuracy and limitations of using each of the STP methods were discussed.Results: Log-normal distribution was shown as more appropriate to capture effective half-life distributions. The STP framework was shown as promising for dosimetry of 177 Lu-DOTATATE, and for kidney dosimetry of different radiopharmaceuticals (errors<30%). Meanwhile, for some radiopharmaceuticals, STP accuracy is compromised (e.g. in bone marrow and tumors for 177 Lu-PSMA therapies). Optimal SPECT scanning time for 177 Lu-DOTATATE is at ~72 h p.i., while 48 h p.i. would be better for 177 Lu-PSMA compounds. Conclusion:Our results demonstrate that simplified STP dosimetry methods may compromise the accuracy of dose estimates, with some exceptions such as for 177 Lu-DOTATATE and for kidney dosimetry in different radiopharmaceuticals. Simplified personalized dosimetry in the clinic continues to be a challenging task. Based on these results, we make suggestions and recommendations for improved personalized dosimetry using simplified imaging schemes. * The data of effective half-lives were published in the format of median and range only. For Studies 3 and 9, their corresponding values of mean and SD were then calculated based on method by Hozo et al 2005 (19). For Study 4, we had access to complete listing of effective half-lives. † The 95% CI of range was estimated assuming log-normal statistics, as described in the text. ‡ T eff of each individual ROI (organ or lesion) was available (i.e. complete listing of effective half-lives for all patients). § This overall dataset (29 patients) consisted primarily of 177 Lu-DOTATATE (22 patients) but also included some 177 Lu-DOTATOC ( 7patients).