In the context of APOTEMA (Accelerator-driven Production of TEchnetium/Molybdenum for medical Applications) project, the development of a β-spectrometer dedicated to the measurement of 99gTc radioactive samples started in 2013. 99gTc is a long half-life (τ½=2.111·105 y), pure β-emitter nuclide that is produced by decay of 99mTc (τ½=6.0067 h) and 99Mo (τ½=65.976 h) or via the 100Mo(p,2n)99gTc reaction, that has been estimated only up to 18 MeV by Gagnon et al.. One of the purposes of APOTEMA project is the measurement of this cross section in the whole energy range of interest (8-25 MeV) [2]. In fact, in order to evaluate the quality of accelerator-produced 99mTc, it is necessary to estimate the amount of Tc-nuclides co-produced during irradiations, since they cannot be chemically separated from 99mTc. In particular, the production of Tc-isotopes can be reduced as much as possible by choosing an appropriate energy window of the incoming proton-beam (20-10 MeV), but the production of the isomer 99gTc cannot be avoided, since the peaks of the 100Mo(p,2n)99gTc,99mTc cross sections are in the same energy range. Among various possibilities, the use of a dedicated β- spectrometer is a promising solution for the evaluation of the 99gTc activity produced in different irradiation runs.
Development of a β-spectrometer for 99gTc Activity Estimations
DI DOMENICO, Giovanni;PUPILLO, Gaia;TAIBI, Angelo;GAMBACCINI, Mauro;UCCELLI, Licia;BOSCHI, Alessandra;PASQUALI, Micol;
2014
Abstract
In the context of APOTEMA (Accelerator-driven Production of TEchnetium/Molybdenum for medical Applications) project, the development of a β-spectrometer dedicated to the measurement of 99gTc radioactive samples started in 2013. 99gTc is a long half-life (τ½=2.111·105 y), pure β-emitter nuclide that is produced by decay of 99mTc (τ½=6.0067 h) and 99Mo (τ½=65.976 h) or via the 100Mo(p,2n)99gTc reaction, that has been estimated only up to 18 MeV by Gagnon et al.. One of the purposes of APOTEMA project is the measurement of this cross section in the whole energy range of interest (8-25 MeV) [2]. In fact, in order to evaluate the quality of accelerator-produced 99mTc, it is necessary to estimate the amount of Tc-nuclides co-produced during irradiations, since they cannot be chemically separated from 99mTc. In particular, the production of Tc-isotopes can be reduced as much as possible by choosing an appropriate energy window of the incoming proton-beam (20-10 MeV), but the production of the isomer 99gTc cannot be avoided, since the peaks of the 100Mo(p,2n)99gTc,99mTc cross sections are in the same energy range. Among various possibilities, the use of a dedicated β- spectrometer is a promising solution for the evaluation of the 99gTc activity produced in different irradiation runs.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
