Design of a target system for producing clinically useful quantities of oxygen-15 using an electron linear...

The nuclear medicine uses of short-lived positron emitters, such as 15O and 11C, rely primarily on the cyclotron production of these radionuclides. This paper presents an alternate approach to production of 15O by the use of photonuclear reactions on 16O, using bremsstrahlung radiation produced by an electron linear accelerator. Methods are described which produce useable quantities of relatively high specific activity 15O (25.1 mCi/4 min at 27.9 Ci/g), using a reboiling H2O target, with an electron linear accelerator having an electron beam energy of 26 MeV and a beam current of 100 microamperemeter. Results of this target system are compared to those of a target system developed recently by other investigators.