Carbon-10: Example of cyclotron production of positron emitters as an open research field

Abstract

This paper supports the thesis that significant improvement of PET output response to clinical questions can be achieved by innovation in radionuclide production. Moreover, that development can be performed with the resources available at a clinical centre. Carbon-10 production parameters studies are used as example. A technical methodology for measurement of excitation function of nuclear reactions yielding short-lived radionuclides, performed to measure cross section values of the 10B(p,n)10C reaction in a PET-devoted cyclotron, is presented.