September 10th the
first beams were circulated
through the new world's largest
and
highest-energy particle
accelerator.
However, the collider will be
down until next spring following
technical problems within the
first two days of operation. The
collider is contained in a
circular tunnel with a 17 mile
circumference crossing the
border between Switzerland and
France. To learn more
about this exciting experimental
facility see
Wikipedia and
view a great rap video on
YouTube!
Case
Study
A 61 year
old man was recently diagnosed
with
prostate cancer. A
bone scan was ordered
continued...
Murphy's Law has been
in effect lately with
the world's supply of
molybdenum from
nuclear reactors.
The Nordion reactor in
Canada (one of the few
up and running) was hit
by lightening and had to
be shut down early
compounding the shortage
problem.
Hopefully , we will have
an increased supply by
next week so that we can
celebrate
Nuclear Medicine
Week!
Nuclear Reactor
Update
The
world's supply of
molybdenum
is fluctuating from week
to week depending
on reactor production.
Typically, reactors run
for about 3.5
weeks before a scheduled
maintenance period which
may run 3-4 days to
a couple of weeks.
When reactors are down
and maintenance periods
overlap, the Mo-99
supply is affected.
The HFR reactor
is anticipated to be
down through November,
but the BR2 reactor
should be back in
service about Oct. 21. Covidien
will be posing an update
to the situation in the
next couple of days.
Check their
website for
updates. You can
also get additional
informaton about the
reactor update from the
NRG website.
FDA Approves AdreView
GE Healthcare received FDA
approval for I-123
Iobenquane (AdreView, I-123
MIBG) for neuroendocrine
tumor imaging. GE received
orphan-drug status to
develop this agent in 2004.
I-123 MIBG is also used in
investigational studies as a
diagnostic tool to assess
cardiac sympathetic
innervation.
Hepatobiliary CE - Free
A free CE on-demand
webcourse titled
Hepatobiliary Scintigraphy
in Gall Bladder Disease is
available from
www.ProCE.com.
This is an excellent program
sponsored by Bracco
Diagnostics that you will
find very informative.
Generic
Sestamibi Available
Covidien is first to the
market with generic
sestamibi. FDA
approval was received on
Sept. 23rd. (If we
only have the technetium to
make it!)
Online Poll
Have you witnessed any
downturn in business
that you can attribute
to the current economic
situation?
The Nuclear Education
Online program is offering a Basic
Radiation Safety Course for those
workers that need a basic introductory
course to Radiation Safety. Great
for drivers and support staff. A
great way to document their training.
The
world's supply of
molybdenum
is fluctuating from week
to week depending
on reactor production.
Typically, reactors run
for about 3.5
weeks before a scheduled
maintenance period which
may run 3-4 days to
a couple of weeks.
When reactors are down
and maintenance periods
overlap, the Mo-99
supply is affected.
The HFR reactor
is anticipated to be
down through November,
but the BR2 reactor
should be back in
service about Oct. 21. Covidien
will be posing an update
to the situation in the
next couple of days.
Check their
Covidien is first to the
market with generic
sestamibi. FDA
approval was received on
Sept. 23rd. (If we
only have the technetium to
make it!)