CNPEM will not produce radioisotopes or treat patients; the objective is to make the technology viable. Other institutions will be able to apply it in the medical and pharmaceutical fields.
The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), a social organization supervised by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), had its project for the development of a proton accelerator approved by the Ministry of Health. The focus is to guarantee national autonomy and to allow several regions of the country, currently without access to the technology, to perform tests to detect the disease and offer oncological treatments. The total investment is approximately R$ 27 million from the Ministry of Health and the execution period is two years.
CNPEM researchers working on the proton accelerator’s first prototype
Currently, the national production of radioisotopes used in diagnostic tests depends on cyclotron-type accelerators supplied by foreign companies. These devices have limitations that make their installation, operation, and distribution relatively complex. One of the biggest challenges is the required infrastructure: cyclotrons need large areas and robust shielding structures to ensure the safety of operators and the environment. In this context, developing more compact and simpler equipment and facilities can reduce costs, facilitate logistics, and make the production and supply of radioisotopes more agile and efficient – directly benefiting public health services and access to radiopharmaceutical treatments.
CNPEM will not produce radioisotopes or treat patients; the objective is to make the technology viable. Other institutions will be able to apply it in the medical and pharmaceutical fields.
The project also has a strategic impact on Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS). “The focus is to guarantee national autonomy and to allow several Brazilian regions, currently without access to the equipment, to enable the production of radioisotopes for diagnostics and treatments,” he notes.
The engineer points out that Brazil is heavily dependent on imports of these materials, which have a very short shelf life. “There are few places that produce radioisotopes in the country, and many of them decay within a few hours or minutes. This makes it unfeasible to transport the material over long distances and the ideal solution is to have local production, close to hospitals”, he says.
Radiopharmaceuticals are medications that combine radioisotopes with molecules capable of directing radiation directly to tumor cells, increasing treatment precision and reducing side effects. But when the radiation level decays, the drug is no longer effective.
The proposal is to develop a national prototype capable of producing radioisotopes for imaging diagnostics and oncological therapies, starting with fluorine-18 and gallium-68. Fluorine and gallium were chosen because they are widely used in diagnostics today.
The first prototype of the accelerator is already in the testing phase. “We started the development early last year. We designed, built and integrated the subsystems to accelerate the first protons”, details Citadini.
By the end of the project, CNPEM intends to deliver a system capable of generating proton beams of up to 10 megaelectronvolts (MeV), enough to produce a wide range of radioisotopes used in nuclear medicine. “Our goal is to master the entire technology. Next, we will increase the energy to allow the production of a wider variety of radioisotopes”, concludes the engineer.
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