What are medical isotopes?

Medical isotopes arise when a raw material is made unstable (radioactive) through irradiation in, for example, a nuclear reactor.

The raw materials that are irradiated in the reactor are generally won by the mining industry. It concerns metal or oxides such as uranium, lutetium and irridium. The reactor is loaded with these raw materials which are packed in aluminum tubes. In the core of the reactor these tubes are irradiated with neutrons for several hours. The structure of the isotopes in the raw material changes because for example an extra neutron is shot in the cores. This way radio isotopes arise.

The radio isotopes are processed by the pharmaceutical industry into radioactive medicines for the hospitals. Nuclear medicines are only briefly active. The advantage of this short operative time is that the patient is exposed only a short period of time to the radioactive substances in nuclear medicines. In that way the physical damage for the body remains limited. The disadvantage is that the substance loses its function rather rapidly. As a result of this the distribution must take place rapidly and no stocks can be produced.