Cyclotrons Operated for Nuclear Medicine and Radiopharmacy in the German Speaking D-A-CH Countries: An Update on Current Status and Trends

Abstract

BackgroundCyclotrons form a central infrastructure and are a resource of medical radionuclides for the development of new radiotracers as well as the production and supply of clinically established radiopharmaceuticals for patient care in nuclear medicine.AimTo provide an updated overview of the number and characteristics of cyclotrons that are currently in use within radiopharmaceutical sciences and for the development of radiopharmaceuticals to be used for patient care in Nuclear Medicine in Germany (D), Austria (A) and Switzerland (CH).MethodsPublicly available information on the cyclotron infrastructure was (i) consolidated and updated, (ii) supplemented by selective desktop research and, last but not least, (iii) validated by members of the committee of the academic “Working Group Radiochemistry and Radiopharmacy” (AGRR), consisting of radiochemists and radiopharmacists of the D-A-CH countries and belonging to the German Society of Nuclear Medicine (DGN), as well as the Radiopharmaceuticals Committee of the DGN.ResultsIn total, 42 cyclotrons were identified that are currently being operated for medical radionuclide production for imaging and therapy in Nuclear Medicine clinics, 32 of them in Germany, 4 in Austria and 6 in Switzerland. Two thirds of the cyclotrons reported (67%) are operated by universities, university hospitals or research institutions close to a university hospital, less by/in cooperation with industrial partners (29%) or a non-academic clinic/ PET-center (5%). Most of the cyclotrons (88%) are running with up to 18 MeV proton beams, which is sufficient for the production of the currently most common cyclotron-based radionuclides for PET imaging.DiscussionThe data presented provide an academically-updated overview of the medical cyclotrons operated for the production of radiopharmaceuticals and their use in Nuclear Medicine in the D-A-CH countries. In this context, we discuss current developments and trends with a view to the cyclotron infrastructure in these countries, with a specific focus on organizational aspects.

Highlight selection of radiochemistry and radiopharmacy developments by editorial board

“…The role of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the capacity building, knowledge sharing and promotion of the regional production and use of PET is to be mentioned. The report is answering the need for consolidated and updated information on the cyclotron infrastructure, which was also recently addressed (Zippel et al 2022) in Europe for the region of German speaking countries (Germany, Austria and Switzerland). In total, 42 cyclotrons were identified.…”

Gewinnschwellenanalyse bei Bildgebungsgeräten: Grundlegende Einführung mit Vorstellung eines nutzungsfreundlichen Tools zur klinikinternen Kalkulation am Beispiel PET/CT

“…Um diesen Wachstumsmarkt erschließen zu können, braucht es ausreichend nuklearmedizinische Diagnostik-und Behandlungskapazitäten. Hierzu gehörenneben qualifizierten Mitarbeitenden, der Infrastruktur zur Radiotracer-Herstellung [13] und nuklearmedizinischen Betten [14] die Beschaffung und der Betrieb von modernen Bildgebungsgeräten für die Nuklearmedizin, wie z. B. PET/CT zur molekularen Hybridbildgebung.…”