High power laser production of short-lived isotopes for positron emission tomography

K.W.D. Ledingham, P. McKenna, T. McCanny, S. Shimizu, J.M. Yang, L. Robson, J. Zweit, J.M. Gillies, J. Bailey, G.N. Chimon, Rosemary Clarke, D. Neely, P.A. Norreys, John Collier, R.P. Singhal, M.S. Wei, S.P.D. Mangles, P. Nilson, K. Krushelnick, Matthew Zepf

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

126 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a powerful diagnostic/imaging technique requiring the production of the short-lived positron emitting isotopes C-11, N-13, O-15 and F-18 by proton irradiation of natural/enriched targets using cyclotrons. The development of PET has been hampered due to the size and shielding requirements of nuclear installations. Recent results show that when an intense laser beam interacts with solid targets, megaelectronvolt (MeV) protons capable of producing PET isotopes are generated. This report describes how to generate intense PET sources of C-11 and F-18 using a petawatt laser beam. The work describing the laser production of F-18 through a (p,n) O-18 reaction, and the subsequent synthesis of 2-[F-18] is reported for the first time. The potential for developing compact laser technology for this purpose is discussed.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2341-2345
Number of pages5
JournalJournal Of Physics D-applied Physics
Volume37
Issue number16
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 21 Aug 2004

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)

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