Several significant changes in the last year indicate that the production and distribution of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) will be a significant growth business over the next ten years. Among these changes are the increased use of FDG in nuclear medicine and the improving reimbursement environment for PET, including the reimbursement for lung cancer. In order to meet the need for increased 18F fluoride ion production, accelerators will have to be developed or modified that are capable of producing this isotype at the lowest cost per millicurie with high reliability. We propose an intensive development of gridded accelerator window supports to enable the development in Phase II of high power (approximately 800 W) 11 MeV proton only targets for the production of 18F fluoride ion. The product of the proposed research plus increases in available beam current from internal developments at CTI will result in an accelerator capable of producing FDG at a substantially lower cost per millicurie than is currently available. The focus of this application is targets for 11 MeV protons due to the currently mature, low-cost, commercially viable and highly reliable accelerator technology at CTI.
The proposed research will result in a marketable and manufacturable upgrade to our current, commercially viable product. The reduction in cost of FDG that this development provides will stimulate the accelerator market, as well as the market for scanners that rely on this radiopharmaceutical.
