The role of electromagnetic separators in the production of radiotracers for bio-medical research and nuclear medical application

With the growing complexity of positron emission tomography/single photon emission computed tomography imaging and the new developments in systemic radionuclide therapy there is a growing need for radioisotope preparations with higher radiochemical and radionuclidic purity that has not been achievable before. Especially important for the new applications is the specific activity of the radiotracer. Conventional methods in medical isotope production have reached their technical limitations. The role of isotope separators is discussed with examples of typical production and characterization experiments conducted at the ISOLDE and TRIUMF facilities. These preliminary experiments indicate that isotope separators have a definite role to play in the future for the production of radioisotopes for biomedical research and medical application. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.