Developing the production of the radioisotope Tc-99m within the US

A team of university researchers have collaborated together to develop a method to produce the radioisotope Tc-99m in the US to prevent having to import it.

Approximately 40,000 people in the United States receive a nuclear medicine imaging procedure using the radioisotope technetium-99m (Tc-99m) everyday. Tc-99m is used in 80 percent of all nuclear medicine imaging procedures worldwide.

“Famously, it’s used in what is called a ‘stress test,’” said Steven Reese, Director of the Oregon State Radiation Center and an instructor in Oregon State University’s College of Engineering.

“The idea is that you run on a treadmill and then get injected with Tc-99m, which is attached to a molecule that follows the flow of blood. Radiation detectors are then placed around the body so we can see how the heart moves the blood. It uncovers a lot of vital and accurate information for physicians, and that’s why they like to use it.”

To read more please visit: https://www.europeanpharmaceuticalreview.com/news/82985/production-tc-99m

Source: European Pharmaceutical Review