Dewi M. Lewis1 (1) General Electric Healthcare, The Grove Centre, White Lion Road, Amersham, Bucks, HP7 9LL, UK Dewi M. Lewis Email: dewi.lewis@ge.com
Recently there has been a phenomenal growth in clinical PET using 18FDG as well as a resurgence of interest in imaging with 123I. However, 99mTc still remains the most popular radionuclide; approximately 80% of all the world’s nuclear medicine procedures are carried out using 99mTc. The supply of its parent radionuclide (99Mo) relies on access to nuclear research reactors and nuclear fission radiochemical processing. During the last 18 months, there have been supply problems with both the reactors and radiochemistry operations; therefore, it is timely to re-visit this issue and examine the options that exist for 99Mo supply in Europe.
In a 1995 editorial in this journal on the availability of suitable reactors, I wrote that “the situation in North America was dire” and “whereas Europe was blessed with several good isotope-producing reactors, the situation in Europe was far from secure”. It is with regret that I can only report that the situation has deteriorated considerably since that time.
