Peñas Juan, Alejo Aarón, Bembibre Adrián, Apiñaniz Jon Imanol, García-García Enrique, Guerrero Carlos, Henares José Luis, Hernández-Palmero Irene, Méndez Cruz, Millán-Callado María Ángeles, Puyuelo-Valdés Pilar, Seimetz Michael, Benlliure José
Instituto Galego de Física de Altas Enerxías (IGFAE), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Centro de Láseres Pulsados (CLPU), 37185, Salamanca, Spain.
Sci Rep. 2024 May 20;14(1):11448. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-61540-2.
Most advanced medical imaging techniques, such as positron-emission tomography (PET), require tracers that are produced in conventional particle accelerators. This paper focuses on the evaluation of a potential alternative technology based on laser-driven ion acceleration for the production of radioisotopes for PET imaging. We report for the first time the use of a high-repetition rate, ultra-intense laser system for the production of carbon-11 in multi-shot operation. Proton bunches with energies up to 10-14 MeV were systematically accelerated in long series at pulse rates between 0.1 and 1 Hz using a PW-class laser. These protons were used to activate a boron target via the B(p,n) C nuclear reaction. A peak activity of 234 kBq was obtained in multi-shot operation with laser pulses with an energy of 25 J. Significant carbon-11 production was also achieved for lower pulse energies. The experimental carbon-11 activities measured in this work are comparable to the levels required for preclinical PET, which would be feasible by operating at the repetition rate of current state-of-the-art technology (10 Hz). The scalability of next-generation laser-driven accelerators in terms of this parameter for sustained operation over time could increase these overall levels into the clinical PET range.
大多数先进的医学成像技术,如正电子发射断层扫描(PET),需要在传统粒子加速器中产生的示踪剂。本文重点评估一种基于激光驱动离子加速的潜在替代技术,用于生产PET成像用的放射性同位素。我们首次报告了使用高重复率、超强激光系统在多次运行中生产碳-11。使用拍瓦级激光,以0.1至1赫兹的脉冲率,在长串中系统地加速了能量高达10 - 14兆电子伏的质子束。这些质子通过B(p,n)C核反应用于激活硼靶。在能量为25焦耳的激光脉冲多次运行中获得了234千贝可的峰值活度。对于较低的脉冲能量也实现了显著的碳-11生产。在这项工作中测量的实验性碳-11活度与临床前PET所需水平相当,通过以当前最先进技术的重复率(10赫兹)运行将是可行的。下一代激光驱动加速器在该参数方面随着时间持续运行的可扩展性可能会将这些总体水平提高到临床PET范围。