Saskatoon scientists at the Canadian Light Source synchrotron will soon be creating medical isotopes.
Using a particle accelerator, researchers at the CLS will begin testing a procedure to make technetium-99, the most popular isotope used in Canadian hospitals. Their procedure allows them to produce isotopes without creating nuclear waste.
The CLS’s particle accelerator emits an electron beam at a metal known as molybdenum-100. The x-ray knocks out a neutron, leaving molybdenum-99. This new isotope then is mixed with a solution and decays to technetium-99, which is used by the medical community for diagnostic testing.
“When molybdenum-99 is readily available as it currently is, sometimes we have shortages, it’s used in roughly over 5,000 procedures every day,” said Mark de Jong, the CLS director of accelerators.
While the new project is a step forward for Canadian medicine, it’s also putting Saskatoon and Canada on the map when it comes to scientific research.
“It shows the expertise of Canadian science and engineering,” said Grant Bilbrough, an accelerator physicist on the project. “The facility you see downstairs was designed by Canadians, built by Canadians in a Canadian facility, and was built using a lot of Canadian products,” he added.
While testing will start right away, de Jong said it will still be a few years before the medical isotopes created at the CLS are ready to be distributed and used across the country.
