The National Atomic Research Institute (NARI) is preparing to install a 70 million electron volts (MeV) cyclotron to produce short-half-life radiopharmaceuticals, which would stabilize the domestic supply of medical isotopes.
The machine is scheduled to be completed in 2026 and begin producing radiopharmaceuticals in 2027, the institute said yesterday.
Taiwan has to import most of its short-half-life radiopharmaceuticals from other countries, NARI vice president Wang Jeng-jong (王正忠) said.
Photo: Chen Chia-yi, Taipei Times
As radiopharmaceuticals cannot be stored in large amounts due to their short half-life, the country experienced a shortage of the drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic, Wang said.
The institute could in the past few years only rely on a 30Mev cyclotron it owns to produce thallium chloride (thallium-201) injection, gallium citrate (gallium-67) injection and other medical isotopes that are used for imaging to diagnose heart diseases or malignant tumors, Chang said.
However, the 30MeV cyclotron has been in use for more than 30 years, and the institute is preparing to build the newer, larger 70MeV cyclotron, he said.
The two cyclotrons could ensure the continual supply of radiopharmaceuticals, as one could serve as a backup if the other one malfunctioned, he said.
Radiopharmaceuticals produced in Taiwan are mainly used for the diagnosis of illnesses, Chang said.
“The energy range for the new cyclotron would be between 28MeV and 70MeV, which enables it to produce radiopharmaceuticals that are unable to be produced by the 30 MeV cyclotron, such as Actinium-225, which is often used in cancer treatment,” he said.
Aside from producing radiopharmaceuticals, the new cyclotron could be used to develop advanced materials and test radiation resistance of space components and semiconductors, Chang said.
“In the future, chip manufacturers can have radiation-resistance testing done in Taiwan, rather than overseas,” he said.
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