A compact and high current FFAG for the production of radioisotopes for medical application

A low energy Fixed Field Alternating Gradient(FFAG)accelerator has been designed for the production of radioisotopes. Tracking studies have been conducted using the OPAL code, including the effects of space charge. Radioisotopes have a wide range of uses in medicine, and recent disruption to the supply chain has seen a renewed effort to find alternative isotopes and production methods. The design features separate sector magnets with non-scaling, non-linear field gradients but without the counter bends commonly found in FFAG’s. The machine is isochronous at the level of 0.3% up to at least 28MeV and hence able to operate in Continuous Wave (CW) mode. Both protons and helium ions can be used with this design and it has been demonstrated that proton beams with currents of up to 20 mA can be accelerated. An interesting option for the production of radioisotopes is the use of a thin internal target. We have shown that this design has large acceptance, ideal for allowing the beam to be recirculated through the target many times, the lost energy being restored on each cycle. In this way, the production of 99mTc, for example, can take place at the optimum energy.