Sunday, June 28, 2009

Medical isotopes: What are the alternatives?

Medical isotopes: What are the alternatives?
Think the medical isotope shortage of 2007 was bad? Just wait until the middle of July, 2009.
For the first time, the world's two main isotope-producing nuclear reactors will be out of service at the same time. The 52-year-old Chalk River reactor, down since the middle of May, will be joined by the slightly younger reactor in Petten, the Netherlands. The 48-year-old reactor is scheduled for four weeks of maintenance starting in mid-July.

This actually is big news. Medical Isotopes are used in some very effective, and cost effective methods of diagnosing disease. The alternatives tend to be very expensive (PET scans) or not as effective (CT scans)

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