SHINE Medical Technologies, which recently won federal approval to build a medical isotope facility in Wisconsin, announced this week the successful operation of an accelerator-based neutron generator for 132 consecutive hours with greater than 97 percent uptime.
The test run, which was completed March 14-19 in Wisconsin, is an industry first for extended operation of a gas neutron generator, according to a company press release. SHINE has partnered with Phoenix Nuclear Labs, which will build neutron generators for SHINE’s eight medical isotope production units at the Janesville facility, which is scheduled to begin operation in 2019. Using compact linear accelerators, the generators produce neutrons through fusion of hydrogen isotopes.
“This accomplishment is the result of over ten years of development effort by our dedicated and talented technical team,” Phoenix Nuclear Labs President Ross Radel said in the release. “We’ve demonstrated record neutron yield, and this achievement validates that our technology can run with unprecedented reliability on the time scales necessary for highly efficient and stable isotope production by our partner SHINE.”
After receiving Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval last month to build the plant, SHINE is ahead of two other companies, Northwest Medical Isotopes and Coqui RadioPharmaceuticals Corp., in a race to become the first American commercial producer of molybdenum-99, a medical isotope used in imaging procedures for cancer, heart disease, and bone and kidney disease. According to the release, neutron generators must run 132-hour cycles in order to ensure patients “receive critically important doses on time.”
