DESIGN OF A MOBILE RADIOISOTOPE DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY-

ALTHOUGH POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY (PET) HAS DEMON- STRATED UNIQUE CAPABILITIES IN THE NONINVASIVE STUDY OF FUNDAMENTAL METABOLIC AND PHYSICAL PROCESSES, ITS WIDESPREAD USE IS LIMITED BY THE COMPLEXITY OF THE PROCEDURES AND THE COST OF THE INSTRUMENTATION. PARTICULARLY LIMITING HAS BEEN THE ONSITE ACCELERATOR REQUIRED TO PRODUCE THE SHORT-LIVED ISOTOPES 11C, 13N, 15O, AND 18F (CNOF), WHICH ARE KEY TO PET'S POWER. A UNIQUELY SMALL 8 MEV CYCLOTRON HAS BEEN DEVELOPED AS A POTENTIAL SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM. ITS SIZE, WEIGHT, AND CONFIGURATION FOR MINIMIZING SHIELDING VOLUME SUGGEST THAT THIS CYCLOTRON MIGHT BE INCORPORATED INTO A MOBILE RADIOISOTOPE DELIVERY SYSTEMS (MRDS). SUCH A SYSTEM WILL PERMIT SHARING ANNUAL OPERATING COST AMONG SEVERAL INSTITUTIONS IN PROPORTION TO THEIR USAGE AND THUS PROVIDE THE LOWEST POSSIBLE COST OF PROVIDING CNOF FOR PET. UNFORTUNATELY, THE CYCLOTRON GAINS ITS ADVANTAGE IN SIZE AND SIMPLICITY BY USING SEVERAL NUCLEAR REACTIONS FOR CNOF PRODUCTION THAT ARE NOT STANDARD PRACTICE. AS A RESULT, THERE IS A CONTROVERSY OVER THE QUESTION OF WHETHER THIS INNOVATIVE BUT NON- STANDARD APPROACH HAS SUFFICIENT USE TO JUSTIFY RE- PLACING THE ESTABLISHED TECHNOLOGY. CONSEQUENTLY, A PROGRAM TO DEMONSTRATE THE CLINICAL UTILITY OF THE 8 MEV PROTON CYCLOTRON IS A PREREQUISITE TO OBTAINING THE PRIVATE FINANCING TO DEVELOP AND MARKET A COMMER- CIALLY AVAILABLE MRDS. IN PHASE I, QUANTITATIVE GOALS FOR THE PHASE II DEMONSTRATION WILL BE DEVELOPED: DESIGN AND COSTING STUDIES OF THE MRDS WILL BE PER- FORMED, AND A STUDY OF THE TECHNICAL, LEGAL, AND ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF THE MRDS WILL BE UNDERTAKEN.