Projectile fusion reactor could generate much-needed medical isotopes

Amazing stuff!

Presumably, medical isotopes for cancer treatment will only be a short lived episode in the history of medicine.

"... “The neutrons produced by fusion are high energy, and the flux is also very high. This means that there is a very wide scope for isotope production with fusion as the neutron source,” ... “We can in theory create a large range of different isotopes, including Mo-99.” The team has also studied isotopes used for cancer treatments, including copper-67, samarium-153, lutetium-177 and yttrium-90. ...

First Light continues to work closely with IDOM on the design of its reactor chamber and the development of Machine 4, which will be housed in a purpose-built facility at the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s Culham Campus in Oxfordshire. Construction is anticipated to begin next year, with operations likely to commence in 2027. “Once the system is performing high-yield shots, this may give us an opportunity to test the isotope production as a proof of principle,” ...

First Light is not the only company exploiting fusion to create medical isotopes. SHINE Technologies of the US is using its fusion technology to produce the therapeutic isotope lutetium-177 (Lu-177). SHINE made its first commercial sales of Lu-177 in 2020 and recently opened the largest Lu-177 production facility in North America at its headquarters in Janesville, WI. The company is also currently constructing a fusion-driven medical isotope production facility, the Chrysalis, to produce Mo-99. Medical isotope production is Phase 2 of SHINE’s four-phase roadmap towards generating fusion energy. ..."

Projectile fusion reactor could generate much-needed medical isotopes – Physics World