JP6730874B2 - Radionuclide manufacturing apparatus, target apparatus and method for manufacturing radiopharmaceutical - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a radionuclide manufacturing apparatus, a target device and a method for manufacturing a radiopharmaceutical.

Imaging of a nuclear medicine image is performed by introducing a radiopharmaceutical having a small amount of a radionuclide as a mark into a patient's body, and imaging how the radiopharmaceutical gathers in an organ, a body tissue or the like. As such a technique, for example, positron emission tomography (Positron Emission Tomography: hereinafter also referred to as “PET”) is known. In PET, for example, a drug in which fluorine-18 ( ¹⁸ F) is added to glucose as a radionuclide ( ¹⁸ F-FDG: hereinafter also simply referred to as “FDG”) is injected into the body of a patient. Then, the distribution of FDG in the body is photographed by a PET camera.

¹⁸ F is generated by irradiating a charged particle beam with H ₂ ¹⁸ O as a target to cause a nuclear reaction of ¹⁸ O(p,n) ¹⁸ F. The target H ₂ ¹⁸ O is relatively expensive, and the amount used is as small as 2 to 5 ml. In the radionuclide manufacturing apparatus, when a small amount of target is irradiated with a high-energy beam, the target irradiated with the beam boils and vaporizes. The boiling and vaporization of the target moves the target from the irradiation position of the beam, which reduces the efficiency of the nuclear reaction and contributes to a decrease in the yield of ¹⁸ F. On the other hand, the yield of ¹⁸ F increases by increasing the beam current of the beam energy, and the beam current tends to increase further. Therefore, the radionuclide manufacturing apparatus has a conflicting request to suppress boiling and vaporization of the target while being irradiated with a beam having a large current value.

In addition, the target in the target device is generally enclosed in a container as a beam entrance window with a metal foil having a high melting point, high strength, and high corrosion resistance. When the pressure in the container increases due to the boiling and vaporization of the target, the foil also receives a high pressure.
By the way, since the beam passes through the foil and is applied to the target, the thickness of the foil is set so as to block the passage of the liquid or gas and allow the passage of the beam. Therefore, when a larger volume of beam is incident, the thickness of the foil cannot be made thick enough to withstand the increase in pressure inside the container, and the foil may be damaged in the target device. ing.

Known techniques for suppressing the boiling and vaporization of the target include those described in Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3, for example. Among the known techniques, the RI manufacturing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 supplies a pressurized gas to the buffer section in order to suppress boiling. However, it is known that the pressurized gas reduces the cooling efficiency of the vaporized target. Therefore, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the vaporized target and the mixed gas of the pressurized gas are separated in the cooling unit.
The target device described in Patent Document 2 supplies helium gas to the buffer portion communicating with the accommodation portion of the target to suppress boiling, and at the same time widens the shape of the buffer portion in the width direction to increase the surface area of the wall surface of the buffer portion. , Increasing the cooling capacity of the target steam. Patent Document 3 describes a target device that includes a first chamber that accommodates a target and a second chamber that has a larger volume than the first chamber and that accommodates a vaporized target.

JP, 2013-246131, A JP, 2011-220930, A U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0141062

However, in the known technique for suppressing the boiling and vaporization of the target, a mechanism for cooling the vaporized target is provided on the vertical plane of the beam incident on the target, and therefore there is a limit in increasing the surface area of this mechanism. .. Particularly when H ₂ ¹⁸ O is targeted, a small cyclotron called a PET cyclotron is often used. A plurality of target devices are attached to the PET cyclotron, and the irradiation device is densely arranged at the particle beam extraction part from the target device. For this reason, if the volume of the target device is increased, the number of target devices that can be attached to the PET cyclotron will decrease, and the stable maintenance of the ¹⁸ F and the problem of exposure of the operator will be hindered due to target maintenance and the like. It is possible.
On the other hand, the area A required for cooling the target by utilizing the latent heat of vaporization (removing the heat of condensation) is expressed by the following equation.
A=Q/(U·ΔT) Formula (1)
In the above equation (1), Q is the amount of heat input to the target device (W), U is the overall electrothermal coefficient (W/m ² K), and ΔT is the temperature difference (K) between the front and back of the member with respect to the area A. To do. According to the equation (1), it is necessary to further increase the surface area of the target device when the material of the target device is made constant and the beam has a large current to increase the heat capacity.

From the above, it is necessary to increase the surface area for cooling without increasing the total volume of the target device in order to produce a large amount of radioisotope in a shorter time using a high current beam. .. Further, in order to reduce the risk of foil damage, it is important for the target device to enhance the cooling efficiency and not increase the internal pressure.
The present invention has been made in view of such a point, does not hinder the attachment to the accelerator, the radionuclide manufacturing apparatus, the target apparatus and the radionuclide manufacturing apparatus with high cooling efficiency of the target irradiated with the particle beam. It is intended to provide a method for producing a nuclide.

The radionuclide manufacturing apparatus of the present invention is a radionuclide manufacturing apparatus that irradiates a liquid target with a particle beam to generate a radionuclide, and a container for containing the target and the container are in communication with each other, and the particle beam A buffer unit capable of diffusing the target vaporized by irradiation, wherein the buffer unit has a shape longer in the length direction along the irradiation direction than in the width direction orthogonal to the irradiation direction of the particle beam, And

The target device of the present invention is a target device of a radionuclide manufacturing apparatus for irradiating a liquid target with a particle beam to generate a radionuclide, and a container having a container for housing the target, and communicating with the container, A buffer unit capable of diffusing the target vaporized by the irradiation of the particle beam; and the buffer unit having a shape longer in the length direction along the irradiation direction than in the width direction orthogonal to the irradiation direction of the particle beam. It is characterized by having.

The method for producing a radiopharmaceutical of the present invention is a method for producing a radiopharmaceutical using the radionuclide produced by the radionuclide production apparatus, wherein the step of collecting the radionuclide from the radionuclide production apparatus is performed. And a labeling step of labeling the labeling precursor compound with the radionuclide recovered in the recovery step.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention described above can provide a radionuclide producing apparatus, a target apparatus, and a method for producing a radiopharmaceutical, which does not hinder attachment to an accelerator and has high cooling efficiency of a target irradiated with a beam.
That is, according to the above configuration, at least a part of the vaporized target is diffused in the buffer portion and cooled. In order to enhance the cooling efficiency of the target, it is advantageous that the surface area of the buffer portion is large. As a method of increasing the surface area, it is possible to provide a plurality of the buffer portions. According to the above configuration of the present invention, the surface area of the target device can be increased by expanding the target device in the length direction without expanding the target device in the width direction. Therefore, according to the present invention, even if a plurality of target devices are arranged in the circumferential direction of the member that generates the particle beam, the attachment of the target devices can be prevented.

It is a typical sectional view for explaining the radionuclide manufacture device of one embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a perspective view of the target device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a top view of the target device shown in FIG. 2. It is sectional drawing which follows the arrow line AA shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the arrow line BB shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the arrow line CC shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which showed the shape of the top view of the buffer part shown in FIG.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same members in the drawings, and the description of the above may be partially omitted. In addition, the schematic diagrams of the present embodiment and the second embodiment are for explaining the function, the positional relationship, and the like, and do not accurately represent the size and shape.

[Radionuclides production equipment]
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the radionuclide manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment. The illustrated radionuclide manufacturing apparatus 1 is an accelerator that generates a charged particle beam Pb, and a target device that is irradiated with the charged particle beam Pb generated by the accelerator to manufacture a radioactive isotope (hereinafter, referred to as “RI”). And, are included. The accelerator and the target device are attached to each other in close contact with each other by a bolt or the like (not shown) so that only the charged particle beam Pb enters the target device 5 from the accelerator 3.
Such a radionuclide manufacturing apparatus is provided with a self-shield (not shown) in order to prevent radiation leakage to the outside.

The accelerator 3 is configured to accelerate incident particles and generate a charged particle beam Pb. Various types of incident particles are used for forming a particle beam that causes a nuclear reaction in a target material, and examples thereof include protons, deuterons, α particles, ions, electrons, or photons. As the accelerator 3, an electrostatic accelerator, a circular accelerator such as a cyclotron or a synchrotron, a linear accelerator, or a microtron in which a circular accelerator and a linear accelerator are combined can be used. To be done.

In the radionuclide manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment, a plurality of target devices 5 are attached to one accelerator 3. In the example shown in FIG. 1, for example, four target devices are provided on each of the left and right sides of the accelerator 3 in a line in a direction toward the paper surface (direction indicated by Z axis in the figure).
In such a radionuclide manufacturing apparatus, an existing one may be used as the accelerator 3 and the target apparatus may be exchanged with one having a higher yield of the target product. At this time, if the surface area of the target device is simply increased in order to enhance the heat dissipation effect, there is a possibility that a plurality of target devices cannot be attached to the accelerator 3.
Here, the target devices 5 are all arranged side by side in the Z direction in the drawing. Therefore, even if the surface area of the target device 5 is increased in a direction other than the Z direction, the target device 5 can be attached to the accelerator 3.
In the present embodiment, focusing on the above points, the surface area of the target device 5 is increased in a direction other than the Z direction so as to enhance the heat dissipation effect and eliminate the influence on the attachment to the accelerator 3.

In the radionuclide manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment, the accelerator generates a proton beam as the charged particle beam Pb. Then, the generated proton beam is irradiated to the target device 5 with an irradiation current value of 18 MeV, 50 μA to 100 μA or more.
The target device 5 of this embodiment holds H ₂ ¹⁸ O as a target. By irradiating the target with the charged particle beam Pb, a nuclear reaction represented by ¹⁸ O(p,n) ¹⁸ F occurs between the target and the proton in the target device 5, and ¹⁸ F is generated as RI. .. In addition, such a nuclear reaction is described by describing the target substance on the left side, the product on the right side, and the incident particle and the ejected particle in parentheses.

The generated ¹⁸ F is sent to the synthesizer. The synthesizer synthesizes ¹⁸ F with a labeled precursor compound to produce FDG and the like.
Note that the present embodiment is not limited to one in which the target is H ₂ ¹⁸ O. For example, H ₂ O can be used as a target, and ¹³ N can be produced by a nuclear reaction of ¹⁶ O(p,α) ¹³ N.

[Target device]
(overall structure)
Next, the overall configuration of the target device 5 of this embodiment will be described.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view for explaining the target device 5 of this embodiment. The target devices 5 shown in FIG. 1 all have the same configuration. For this reason, in the present embodiment, one target device 5 will be described and replaced with the description of the other target devices 5. The X, Y, Z coordinates shown in FIG. 2 coincide with the coordinate system shown in FIG.

The target device 5 is a target device of a radionuclide manufacturing apparatus that irradiates the liquid target with the charged particle beam Pb to generate a radionuclide. The target device 5 includes an irradiation container 51 that is a container that stores a liquid target, and a buffer unit 53 that is in communication with the irradiation container 51 and that has a space in which the target vaporized by the irradiation of the charged particle beam Pb can diffuse. ing. The irradiation container 51 holds H ₂ ¹⁸ O as a target (not shown). The buffer unit 53 has a length direction (X direction along the drawing) along the irradiation direction of the charged particle beam Pb rather than a width direction (along the Z direction in FIG. 2) orthogonal to the irradiation direction of the charged particle beam Pb. ) Has a long shape.

The target device 5 is made of a metal material having excellent corrosion resistance such as niobium (Nb) or tantalum (Ta). The target device is manufactured by shaving a cylindrical mass of such a metal material having a diameter of 60 mm, or by diffusion bonding of a multilayer disc in which a flow path is cut. The irradiation container 51 and the buffer portion 53 are both spaces formed in the metal material mass by cutting the cylindrical mass. Further, in the present embodiment, such a lump of the metal material is hereinafter referred to as a “target body” 50. Note that niobium is an advantageous member because it suppresses the production of heteronuclear species.
The target device 5 is attached to the accelerator 3 by a mounting fixture 2 made of metal such as aluminum. The mounting fixture 2 has frames 21 and 23, and fixes the target device 5 to the accelerator 3 such that the target device 5 is sandwiched between the frame 21 and the frame 23. The frame body 21 and the frame body 23 are tightly fixed to each other by using bolts or O-rings not shown.
The frame body 21 is provided with a beam entrance 31 through which the charged particle beam Pb emitted from the accelerator 3 passes. At the boundary between the frame 21 and the irradiation container 51, a foil 52 having a suitable thickness that does not pass air, water, or the like through the charged particle beam Pb is provided. For the foil 52, for example, HAVAR (registered trademark), titanium, stainless steel or the like is used.
Although not shown in FIG. 2, a cooling water branch pipe 63 (see FIGS. 2, 3, and 6) in which cooling water circulates is provided on the incident side of the charged particle beam Pb of the target device 5. A cooling water main pipe 60 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) is connected to the cooling water branch pipe 63, and the cooling water is supplied to the cooling water branch pipe 63 from the outside through the cooling water main pipe 60. To be done.
The target device 5 is provided with a communication passage 57 that communicates the irradiation container 51 and the buffer portion 53 to keep the pressures of both of them constant (see FIGS. 3 and 5). By providing the communication passage 57, the pressure from the upper end of the buffer unit 53 to the irradiation container 51 becomes equal, and the water level f1 of the target in the irradiation container 51 is constant regardless of the pressure values of the irradiation container 51 and the buffer unit 53. Kept in.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the target device 5 shown in FIG. 2 as seen from the +Y direction side in the drawing. The top view of FIG. 3 is a partial schematic view, and the illustration of the cooling water main pipe 60 is omitted to make the shape of the irradiation container 51 easier to see. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow line AA shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line C-C shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the target device 5 includes a fitting 71 and a conduit 711 connected to the fitting 71. The fitting 71 and the conduit 711 are components for passing He gas and water through the buffer unit 53 and the irradiation container 51. The target device 5 also includes a fitting 73 and a conduit 731 connected to the fitting 73. The fitting 73 and the conduit 731 are structures for collecting the target containing ¹⁸ F from the irradiation container 51.
In this embodiment, the X-direction length of the frame body 23 in the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 4 is 46.00 mm, and the maximum length in the Z-direction of the frame body 23 in the cross-sectional view shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is 70. It was set to 0.00 mm.

Hereinafter, each of the above configurations will be described.

(Irradiation container)
As shown in FIG. 3, the irradiation container 51 is a cavity that forms a substantially isosceles triangle in a top view. Further, in the irradiation container 51, as shown in FIG. 4, the cross-sectional area of the surface orthogonal to the incident direction of the charged particle beam Pb is directed in the irradiation direction of the charged particle beam Pb (direction from the irradiation source toward the irradiation side). Has a shape that becomes smaller in accordance with. As shown in FIG. 4, the cross section of the irradiation container 51 is larger on the arrow BB shown in FIG. 3 than on the arrow C-C. The cross section of the irradiation container 51 is circular on the arrow BB shown in FIG. 3, but has an elliptical shape on the arrow C-C shown in FIG.

The irradiation container 51 narrows along the X direction (the incident direction of the charged particle beam Pb). In this embodiment, such a shape is also referred to as a “cone shape”. The cone shape is a shape designed according to the fact that the intensity of the charged particle beam Pb is strong at the center of the cross-sectional area perpendicular to the incident direction of the beam and attenuates as it travels through the target. By making the irradiation container 51 into a cone shape, the charged particle beam Pb having a high intensity is irradiated to a portion where the amount of the target is large. As a result, a high heat removal effect can be obtained by the reduction of the heat generation amount per unit area of the irradiation container 51 and the increase of the area of the cooling surface. The amount of the target contained in the irradiation container 51 is, for example, 2 ml to 4 ml, and about 5 ml at the maximum.
Further, the irradiation container 51 has a bottom surface that approaches the central axis of the charged particle beam Pb as it moves away from the side on which the charged particle beam Pb enters. That is, the bottom surface of the irradiation container 51 is inclined upward from the incident side of the charged particle beam Pb toward the back.

As shown in FIG. 4, the irradiation container 51 is designed such that the area of the cross section perpendicular to the X direction along the X direction is small. However, as is clear from FIG. 4, in the irradiation container 51, the inclinations of the upper portion 511a and the lower portion 511b of the vertical cross section shown in FIG. 4 are different. That is, the irradiation container 51 can correct (compensate) the difference in the range of the charged particle beam Pb caused by the boiling of the liquid target because the lower portion 511b is inclined more than the upper portion 511. Therefore, the probability of nuclear reaction is increased and the yield of radionuclide is improved.

(Buffer section)
A plurality of buffer portions 53 are arranged so that the length directions thereof are parallel to each other, and the communication passages 57 that connect the plurality of buffer portions 53 and the irradiation container 51 to each other and return the target liquefied in the buffer portion 53 to the irradiation container 51. Further has.
The target device 5 of this embodiment includes a plurality (seven) of buffer units 53. As shown in FIG. 3, the plurality of buffer units 53 are formed to be long in the incident direction of the charged particle beam Pb, and are arranged such that the length directions thereof are parallel to each other.
In addition, the plurality of buffer portions 53 are vertically provided at equal intervals with respect to the tangential direction of the peripheral surface of the irradiation container 51. Therefore, the plurality of buffer units 53 are arranged radially with respect to the irradiation container 51.
According to the present embodiment as described above, in order to enhance the cooling effect of the target in the target device 5, the buffer portion 53 can be further lengthened along the incident direction of the charged particle beam Pb to increase the surface area of the buffer portion 53. it can.
As described above, the target device 5 is fixed by being sandwiched between the frame body 21 and the frame body 23. At this time, even if the length of the buffer unit 53 is increased and the length of the target device 5 is increased, there is no problem in attaching the target device 5 to the accelerator 3. Further, even when the length of the target device 5 is increased, the length in the Z direction does not change, so that the area required for attaching the target device 5 to the accelerator 3 does not change, and the existing target is not changed. It can be attached to the accelerator 3 in the same manner as the device.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the communication passage 57 sequentially connects the adjacent buffer portions 53 of the plurality of buffer portions 53. Since the plurality of buffer portions 53 communicate with each other via the communication passage 57, the pressures of the irradiation container 51 and the plurality of buffer portions 53 become equal, and the target water level f1 is maintained in the irradiation container 51 and the buffer portion 53. Will be equal.
At least part of the vaporized target in the irradiation container 51 enters the buffer part 53 from the irradiation container 51 and is cooled. At least a part of the target that has been cooled and liquefied in any one of the buffer portions 53 falls directly from the buffer portion 53 into the irradiation container 51.
Further, at least a part of the target that has been cooled and liquefied in the buffer unit 53 enters the other buffer unit 53 via the communication passage 57 connected to the tip of the buffer unit 53. Then, it flows into the irradiation container 51 through the buffer portion 53 into which it has entered.
Further, by connecting the communication passage 57 and the pipe 731, the pressure in evaporation is balanced. As a result, the water level f1 of the target can be stabilized.

In the present embodiment, a platinum (Pt) coating film may be formed on the peripheral wall of the buffer portion 53 as a metal catalyst. As a result, the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen generated by the radiolysis of water can be promoted and water can be quickly returned, so that the increase in the internal pressure of the target due to the generation of non-condensable gas of hydrogen and oxygen is suppressed. Instead, it becomes possible to suppress products (radicals, etc.) due to radiolysis of water.
The platinum coating film can be formed by any of vapor deposition, sputtering and electrolytic plating.

Further, in the present embodiment, the communication passage 57 is connected to the pipeline 711 to which He gas and water are supplied. The target remaining in the communication passage 57 is pushed out by the water or the He gas supplied to the communication passage 57 via the pipe 711, and returns to the irradiation container 51.

Further, the buffer portion 53 has a plurality of concave curved surfaces 531 (see FIG. 7) whose peripheral wall is continuous.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged schematic view of the buffer unit 53 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the wall surfaces W1 and W2 of the buffer portion 53 facing each other have concave curved surfaces 531. The concave curved surface 531 has a shape in which a part of the arc of the circle 533 is continuous. In the buffer portion 53 having the wall surfaces W1 and W2 as described above, the surface area of the inner surface contacting the vaporized target is larger than that of the flat surface, and a high cooling effect can be obtained.

In the present embodiment, when forming the buffer portion 53, the concave curved surface 531 is formed as follows. That is, in the present embodiment in which the target body 50 is shaved to form the buffer portion 53, a drill (not shown) is inserted from the peripheral surface of the cylindrical target body 50 in the −Y direction shown in FIG. 1 to partially overlap the plurality of vertical holes. Thus, it is formed in the X direction. The vertical holes arranged in a line so as to overlap each other form a buffer portion 53 of a slit extending in the X direction. It should be noted that the place communicating with the outside formed by inserting a plurality of vertical hole drills is filled with metal to a predetermined depth.
The diameter r of the circle 533 of the first embodiment is, for example, preferably 2 mm or more and 5 mm or less, and more preferably 3 mm. The buffer part 53 having a diameter r of 3 mm has a track record of suitably functioning with respect to reflux (drop of water).

(motion)
Next, the operation of the target device described above will be described.
In the target device 5, the charged particle beam Pb passes through the foil 52 and enters the irradiation container 51. The protons of the incident charged particle beam Pb collide with the target hydrogen and oxygen atoms. At this time, heat is generated between the protons and the atoms, and the liquid target boils and vaporizes. At least a part of the vaporized target enters any of the plurality of buffer units 53. Since the plurality of buffer portions 53 communicate with each other through the communication passage 57, the pressure is uniform. Therefore, the vaporized target uniformly enters the plurality of buffer units 53. Then, the target is cooled in the buffer portion 53 on the inner surface of the target body 50 to form water droplets. At least a part of the water droplets returns to the irradiation container 51 through a path where it falls directly into the irradiation container 51 due to gravity.

Further, the other part of the target is cooled and liquefied in the buffer part 53, passes through the inner surface of the target body 50 on the peripheral wall of the communication passage 57 communicating with the buffer part 53, and enters the other buffer part 53. When a plurality of target droplets are combined together in the other buffer portion 53, the volume and weight of the droplets increase, and the target body 50 easily slides down. The droplet that has slid down on the inner surface of the target body 50 returns to the irradiation container 51.

[Method for producing radiopharmaceutical]
Next, a method for producing a radiopharmaceutical using the radionuclide produced by the radionuclide producing apparatus 1 described above will be described.
The method includes a recovery step of recovering the radionuclide from the radionuclide manufacturing apparatus. In the recovery step, the target is recovered from the target device 5, and ¹⁸ F is adsorbed through the target through an anion exchange resin cartridge. By eluting it with physiological saline, ¹⁸ F ion ( ¹⁸ F-NaF) as an active ingredient and a radiopharmaceutical can be obtained. The method may also include a labeling step of labeling the labeled precursor compound with the recovered ¹⁸ F. In the labeling step, ¹⁸ F adsorbed on the anion-exchange resin cartridge is eluted with a base such as potassium carbonate or tetrabutylammonium carbonate, ¹⁸ F is dried to remove the solvent, and the labeling precursor compound and the fluorination reaction are removed. It is done by letting. For example, when mannose triflate is used as the labeling precursor compound, ¹⁸ F-fluorodeoxyglucose can be obtained by hydrolysis after the labeling step.

Since the method for producing a radiopharmaceutical of the present embodiment includes a step of producing a radionuclide in the radionuclide producing apparatus, the target irradiation efficiency is improved by improving the cooling efficiency of the target, thereby increasing the yield of the radionuclide. be able to. Therefore, it becomes possible to manufacture more radiopharmaceuticals.

The above embodiment includes the following technical ideas.
(1) A radionuclide manufacturing apparatus for irradiating a liquid target with a particle beam to generate a radionuclide,
A container for containing the target,
A buffer unit that communicates with the container and in which the target vaporized by the irradiation of the particle beam can diffuse.
The radionuclide manufacturing apparatus, wherein the buffer portion has a shape longer in a length direction along the irradiation direction than in a width direction orthogonal to the irradiation direction of the particle beam.
(2) A plurality of the buffer units are arranged so that the length directions are parallel to each other, and the plurality of buffer units and the container are communicated with each other, and the target liquefied in the buffer unit is returned to the container. The radionuclide manufacturing apparatus according to (1), further including a passage.
(3) The radionuclide producing apparatus according to (1) or (2), wherein the container has a cone shape in which a cross-sectional area of a surface orthogonal to the irradiation direction of the particle beam decreases in the irradiation direction of the particle beam. ..
(4) The radionuclide production apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the container has a bottom surface that approaches a central axis of the particle beam as the distance from the incident side of the particle beam increases.
(5) The radionuclide production apparatus according to any one of (1) to 4, wherein the peripheral wall of the buffer section is provided with a film containing a metal catalyst.
(6) The radionuclide production apparatus according to any one of (1) to (5), in which the peripheral wall of the buffer portion includes a plurality of continuous concave curved surfaces.
(7) A target device of a radionuclide manufacturing apparatus for irradiating a liquid target with a particle beam to generate a radionuclide,
A container for containing the target,
A buffer unit that communicates with the container and in which the target vaporized by the irradiation of the particle beam can diffuse.
The target device, wherein the buffer portion has a shape that is longer in a length direction along the irradiation direction than in a width direction orthogonal to the irradiation direction of the particle beam.
(8) A method for producing a radiopharmaceutical, which comprises producing a radiopharmaceutical using the radionuclide produced by the radionuclide producing apparatus according to any one of (1) to (5),
A recovery step of recovering the radionuclide from the radionuclide manufacturing apparatus,
And a labeling step of labeling a labeling precursor compound with the radionuclide collected in the collecting step.
(9) A radionuclide manufacturing apparatus for irradiating a liquid target with a particle beam to generate a radionuclide,
A container for containing the target,
A plurality of buffer portions that communicate with the container and that can diffuse the target vaporized by the irradiation of the particle beam;
The radionuclide manufacturing apparatus, wherein the plurality of buffer units are arranged side by side in the irradiation direction of the particle beam.

1 Radionuclide Production Equipment 2 Fixture 3 Accelerator 5 Target Equipment 21, 23 Frame 31 Beam Entrance 50 Target Body 51 Irradiation Vessel 52 Foil 57 Communication Passage 60 Cooling Water Main 63 Cooling Water Branch 71, 73 Fitting 511a Upper part 511b Lower part 711,713 Pipe line 531 Concave curved surface 533 Circle W1, W2 Wall surface

Claims (8)

A radionuclide manufacturing apparatus for irradiating a liquid target with a particle beam to generate a radionuclide,
A container for containing the target,
A buffer unit that communicates with the container and in which the target vaporized by the irradiation of the particle beam can diffuse.
The radionuclide manufacturing apparatus, wherein the buffer portion has a shape longer in a length direction along the irradiation direction than in a width direction orthogonal to the irradiation direction of the particle beam. A plurality of the buffer sections are arranged so that the length directions are parallel to each other, and a communication path is further provided for communicating the plurality of buffer sections with the container and returning the target liquefied in the buffer section to the container. The radionuclide manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, which has. The radionuclide producing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the container has a cone shape in which a cross-sectional area of a surface orthogonal to the irradiation direction of the particle beam decreases in the irradiation direction of the particle beam. The radionuclide manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the container has a bottom surface that approaches the central axis of the particle beam as the distance from the incident side of the particle beam increases. The radionuclide production apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral wall of the buffer portion is provided with a coating containing a metal catalyst. The radionuclide production apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral wall of the buffer portion includes a plurality of continuous concave curved surfaces. A target device of a radionuclide manufacturing apparatus for irradiating a liquid target with a particle beam to generate a radionuclide,
A container for containing the target,
A buffer unit that communicates with the container and in which the target vaporized by the irradiation of the particle beam can diffuse.
The target device, wherein the buffer portion has a shape that is longer in a length direction along the irradiation direction than in a width direction orthogonal to the irradiation direction of the particle beam. A radionuclide producing step of producing a radionuclide by the radionuclide producing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6;
A recovery step of recovering the radionuclide from the radionuclide manufacturing apparatus,
A radiopharmaceutical production step of producing a radiopharmaceutical using the radionuclide collected in the collection step, and a method for producing a radiopharmaceutical.

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