If you thought it was just helium that’s in demand for medical imaging technologies, then think again, as The Gas Review (TGR) reports that the Water-18O stable isotope is in increasing demand for positron emission computerised tomography (PET) applications.
PET is a diagnostic imaging technology similar to the CT and MRI technologies that are so commonplace in hospitals and medical facilities around the world today. Especially used as a diagnostic measure for cancer, use of FDG-PET examination has been expanding not only in the advanced countries but also in the Middle East, Asia and South America.
Against this backdrop, TGR reports that Taiyo Nippon Sanso (TNSC) is to expand its production capacity of the Water-18O stable isotope, which is a raw material for a drug used in FDG-PET examinations. The company will establish a new production facility with a capacity of 200kg per year at its Sodegaura plant at Chiba Sanso Centre in Chiba Prefecture.
“Along with its existing plant, with a capacity of 100kg per year, TNSC’s total capacity to produce Water-18O will reach 300kg per year”
The new facility will be completed in 2013, an investment totalling around ¥1.7bn. Along with its existing plant, with a capacity of 100kg per year, TNSC’s total capacity to produce Water-18O will reach 300kg per year – the new site will be one of the largest facilities for Water-18O in the world.
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