SBIR-STTR Award

The goal of the research project is to provide the nuclear medicine community with a compact linear accelerator (linac) for the production of the principal shortlived radioisotopes used in positron emission tomography. The design of this linac will be based on exciting new technologies developed for a pion-generating linac (PIGMI) at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. These concepts will be combined with a revolutionary new commercial radio frequency power source to provide a clinically-based linac that will be more practical and economical than a compact cyclotron. The end point of the Phase I study will be a fully engineered design for a Phase II prototype, complete with established operating parameters and operating costs.The Phase I design study will take advantage of Los Alamos' stated technology transfer policy to use the many advances made by the PIGMI program. Specifically, the various accelerator design computer codes developed at Los Alamos will be used to optimize the PIGMI linac design parameters for this project. All final system components will be fully documented in detailed drawings and a cost analysis for commercial production of the system will be provided.National Cancer Institute

The goal of this program is to provide the nuclear medicine community with a compact linear accelerator (linac) for the production of the principal short-lived radioisotopes, which are of great interest in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and functional studies.Phase II will result in the fabrication and assembly of a prototype PET linac according to the design specifications from the Phase I study. The resulting proton linac will be only 4.8 meters long, weigh 3,000 pounds, use only 25 kW of input power, require only minimal shielding, and have a production cost of about $760,000. It will require only 250 square feet of floor space with shielding, be operated remotely from a small console, and be easy to maintain and operate, as well as reliable and rugged.The prototype will be installed in a functioning nuclear medicine department. The necessary radioisotope production targets will be developed in cooperation with that medical center. Phase II will be completed with the acceptance of the prototype by the center as a working radioisotope production accelerator.National Cancer Institute (NCI)