Medical isotopes produced without nuclear reactor

Vancouver Sun : When the Canadian government shut down the Chalk River reactor in Ontario, it eliminated the source of 40% of the world’s technetium-99. The isotope is used in 90% of all nuclear medical imaging, including tracking blood flow and identifying tumors. Now, researchers at the British Columbia Cancer Agency have shown that they can make significant amounts of ⁹⁹Tc using a particle accelerator known as a cyclotron . The accelerator, which collides atoms, has been known for more than 40 years to produce small amounts of various isotopes. Scientists on the $15 million program have been working to scale up the production rate since 2009. Most hospitals have secured supplies of necessary isotopes in the years since the Chalk River shutdown, but the new development may provide cheaper alternatives. However, because of the short half-life of ⁹⁹Tc, a cyclotron can only supply nearby hospitals, so such facilities would likely only be established in larger urban areas.