Recommended nuclear data for medical radioisotope production: diagnostic positron emitters

F Tárkányi ,F.m Nortier ,Austin Nichols ,H Naik ,Y Nagai ,A Luca ,O Lebeda ,M Hussain ,G.n Kim ,A.v Ignatyuk ,S V Suryanarayana ,T Kibédi ,F G Kondev ,Jonathan W Engle ,S Tákacs ,Alex Hermanne ,R Capote ,Mark A Kellett ,B V Carlson ,M Verpelli

doi:10.1007/s10967-018-6380-5

Abstract

An IAEA coordinated research project that began in 2012 and ended in 2016 was primarily dedicated to the compilation, evaluation and recommendation of cross-section data for the production of medical radionuclides. One significant part of this work focused on diagnostic positron emitters. These particular studies consist of 69 reactions for direct and indirect or generator production of 44Sc(44Ti), 52mMn(52Fe), 52gMn, 55Co, 61Cu, 62Cu(62Zn), 66Ga, 68Ga(68Ge), 72As(72Se), 73Se, 76Br, 82Rb(82Sr), 82mRb, 86Y, 89Zr, 90Nb, 94mTc, 110mIn(110Sn), 118Sb(118Te), 120I, 122I(122Xe), 128Cs(128Ba), and 140Pr(140Nd) medical radionuclides. The resulting reference cross-section data were obtained from Padé fits to selected and corrected experimental data, and integral thick target yields were subsequently deduced. Uncertainties in the fitted results were estimated via a Padé least-squares method with the addition of a 4% assessed systematic uncertainty. Experimental data were also compared with theoretical predictions available from the TENDL-2015 and TENDL-2017 libraries. All of the numerical reference cross-section data with their corresponding uncertainties and deduced integral thick target yields are available on-line at the IAEA-NDS medical portal www-nds.iaea.org/medicalportal and also at the IAEA-NDS web page www-nds.iaea.org/medical/positron_emitters.html.

Highlights

The importance of positron-emitting radionuclides in molecular imaging (Positron Emission Tomography, PET) has constantly increased over the years, especially to follow metabolic processes and to quantify radiation dose in internal radiotherapy
The reference cross-section data and integral thick target yields were made available in a hard-copy technical document, and later became accessible on the medical portal of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Nuclear Data Section (IAEA-NDS) with further updates from 2001 to 2007 [2]
Despite the existence of the JCGM guide for the expression of uncertainty in measurements that experimentalists are strongly advised to follow [22], we have found that no such recommended systematic procedures have been undertaken to estimate properly the uncertainty of the measured cross sections and their energy scale

Summary

Introduction

The importance of positron-emitting radionuclides in molecular imaging (Positron Emission Tomography, PET) has constantly increased over the years, especially to follow metabolic processes and to quantify radiation dose in internal radiotherapy.

Results

Conclusion