The potential and applications of cyclotrons in biomedical fields

Applications of cyclotrons in biomedical fields like radioisotope production; activation and reaction analysis with charged particles and neutrons both in-vitro and in vivo types; production of fast neutron beams for therapy, etc. are described. Production yields of various isotopes in use through different nuclear reactions have been compared with the yields calculated using experimentally measured or empirically constructed excitation functions. Detection sensitivities of various elements in tissue through activation induced by protons, deuterons and alphas of different energies are presented. Fast neutron beams produced from Be, D2, D2O and 7Li targets with different sized and priced cyclotrons are critically compared. It is suggested that a Li-7, deuteron or even a heavy water target would produce a more penetrant neutron beam with relatively smaller cyclotrons than the commonly used Be target.