Production of Radioisotopes for Cancer Imaging and Treatment with Compact Linear Accelerators

Abstract Accelerator-produced radioisotopes are widely used in modern medicine, for imaging, for cancer therapy, and for combinations of therapy and diagnostics (theragnostics). Clinical trials are well advanced for several radioisotope-based treatments that might open the way to a strong request of specific accelerator systems dedicated to radioisotope production. While cyclotrons are the standard tool in this domain, we explore here alternative options using linear accelerators. Compared to cyclotrons, linacs have the advantage of modularity, compactness, and reduced beam loss with lower shielding requirements. Although in general more expensive than cyclotrons, linacs are competitive in cost for production of low-energy proton beams, or of intense beams of heavier particles. After a review of radioisotopes of potential interest, in particular produced with low-energy protons or helium, this paper presents two linac-based isotope production systems. The first is a compact RFQ-based system for PET (Positron Emission Tomography) isotopes, and the second is an alpha-particle linac for production of alpha-emitters. The accelerator systems are described, together with calculations of production yields for different targets.