An unique target for pet radioisotope production with the superconducting ion cyclotron resonance accelerator

The compact, lightweight, superconducting Ion Cyclotron Resonance Accelerator (ICRA) developed at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) of Michigan State University has been successfully tested to accelerate a proton beam to a kinetic energy of 50 keV. In the ICRA a proton beam orbits around a DC magnetic field produced by a superconducting solenoid and drifts axially while being accelerated azimuthally by a RF cavity. A 10 MeV version of the ICRA has been designed and evaluated. This paper highlights the operating principle of an annular ((H2O)-O-18) target to produce the common PET radioisotope F-18 Via the O-18(p,n)F-18 reaction. This unique target is designed for an optimal utilisation of the axially drifting accelerated proton beam from the ICRA. The important operational aspects of the annular target including the isotopic yield, characteristics of the parasitic neutron and gamma radiation field and the vital radiological shielding aspects of this novel radioisotope generating machine will be presented.