Frontiers in Medicine (Jul 2021)

CERN-MEDICIS: A Review Since Commissioning in 2017

  • Charlotte Duchemin,
  • Charlotte Duchemin,
  • Joao P. Ramos,
  • Joao P. Ramos,
  • Thierry Stora,
  • Essraa Ahmed,
  • Elodie Aubert,
  • Nadia Audouin,
  • Ermanno Barbero,
  • Vincent Barozier,
  • Ana-Paula Bernardes,
  • Philippe Bertreix,
  • Aurore Boscher,
  • Frank Bruchertseifer,
  • Richard Catherall,
  • Eric Chevallay,
  • Pinelopi Christodoulou,
  • Katerina Chrysalidis,
  • Thomas E. Cocolios,
  • Jeremie Comte,
  • Bernard Crepieux,
  • Matthieu Deschamps,
  • Kristof Dockx,
  • Alexandre Dorsival,
  • Valentin N. Fedosseev,
  • Pascal Fernier,
  • Robert Formento-Cavaier,
  • Robert Formento-Cavaier,
  • Safouane El Idrissi,
  • Peter Ivanov,
  • Vadim M. Gadelshin,
  • Vadim M. Gadelshin,
  • Simone Gilardoni,
  • Jean-Louis Grenard,
  • Ferid Haddad,
  • Reinhard Heinke,
  • Reinhard Heinke,
  • Benjamin Juif,
  • Umair Khalid,
  • Umair Khalid,
  • Moazam Khan,
  • Moazam Khan,
  • Ulli Köster,
  • Laura Lambert,
  • G. Lilli,
  • Giacomo Lunghi,
  • Bruce A. Marsh,
  • Yisel Martinez Palenzuela,
  • Renata Martins,
  • Stefano Marzari,
  • Nabil Menaa,
  • Nathalie Michel,
  • Maxime Munos,
  • Fabio Pozzi,
  • Francesco Riccardi,
  • Julien Riegert,
  • Nicolas Riggaz,
  • Jean-Yves Rinchet,
  • Sebastian Rothe,
  • Ben Russell,
  • Christelle Saury,
  • Thomas Schneider,
  • Simon Stegemann,
  • Simon Stegemann,
  • Zeynep Talip,
  • Christian Theis,
  • Julien Thiboud,
  • Nicholas P. van der Meulen,
  • Miranda van Stenis,
  • Heinz Vincke,
  • Joachim Vollaire,
  • Nhat-Tan Vuong,
  • Benjamin Webster,
  • Klaus Wendt,
  • Shane G. Wilkins,
  • the CERN-MEDICIS collaboration

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.693682
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8

Abstract

Read online

The CERN-MEDICIS (MEDical Isotopes Collected from ISolde) facility has delivered its first radioactive ion beam at CERN (Switzerland) in December 2017 to support the research and development in nuclear medicine using non-conventional radionuclides. Since then, fourteen institutes, including CERN, have joined the collaboration to drive the scientific program of this unique installation and evaluate the needs of the community to improve the research in imaging, diagnostics, radiation therapy and personalized medicine. The facility has been built as an extension of the ISOLDE (Isotope Separator On Line DEvice) facility at CERN. Handling of open radioisotope sources is made possible thanks to its Radiological Controlled Area and laboratory. Targets are being irradiated by the 1.4 GeV proton beam delivered by the CERN Proton Synchrotron Booster (PSB) on a station placed between the High Resolution Separator (HRS) ISOLDE target station and its beam dump. Irradiated target materials are also received from external institutes to undergo mass separation at CERN-MEDICIS. All targets are handled via a remote handling system and exploited on a dedicated isotope separator beamline. To allow for the release and collection of a specific radionuclide of medical interest, each target is heated to temperatures of up to 2,300°C. The created ions are extracted and accelerated to an energy up to 60 kV, and the beam steered through an off-line sector field magnet mass separator. This is followed by the extraction of the radionuclide of interest through mass separation and its subsequent implantation into a collection foil. In addition, the MELISSA (MEDICIS Laser Ion Source Setup At CERN) laser laboratory, in service since April 2019, helps to increase the separation efficiency and the selectivity. After collection, the implanted radionuclides are dispatched to the biomedical research centers, participating in the CERN-MEDICIS collaboration, for Research & Development in imaging or treatment. Since its commissioning, the CERN-MEDICIS facility has provided its partner institutes with non-conventional medical radionuclides such as Tb-149, Tb-152, Tb-155, Sm-153, Tm-165, Tm-167, Er-169, Yb-175, and Ac-225 with a high specific activity. This article provides a review of the achievements and milestones of CERN-MEDICIS since it has produced its first radioactive isotope in December 2017, with a special focus on its most recent operation in 2020.

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