Linear accelerators for the generation of isotopes for medicine

2009/07/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Teknologia

In the laboratory TRIUMF, a Canadian national laboratory dedicated to particle and nuclear physics, a path is being sought to produce the molybdenum-99 isotope without the need for reactors. This isotope is used in 80% of the diagnostic tests of nuclear medicine, and currently the reactors that generate it begin to age and increase the risk of suffering security problems. Instead of creating new reactors, in the Canadian laboratory they want to get the linear accelerator of particles to form rays of photons of extreme intensity that can produce uranium, molybdenum-99.