In 2009, within the framework of the ISTC A1444 project, an activity, devoted to creation
and a further development of accelerator-based technologies of medicine-intended isotopes
production, in particular Technetium99m and Iodin123, was initiated at the Alikhnayan
National Science Laboratory (Yerevan Physics Institute). Work was carried out in the
Isotopes Investigation and Production Department under the supervision of the department
head and A1444 project manager Dr. Albert Avetisyan. For these studies, the experimental
layout has been installed on the electron beam of linear accelerator LUE50.
For the extraction of Technetium99m from the irradiated target a centrifugal extractor
was used, designed and produced by Alexander and Oleg Filyanins from Moscow.
A semi-automatic system of Technetium99m extraction was assembled based on
that extractor by coworkers of the "Medradiopreparat"
enterprise (Moscow) Pavel Erilov and Alexander Zverev. In July 2012 the above-mentioned colleagues
arrived in Yerevan, where they performed the installation and commissioning of the equipment,
then the YerPhI staff made a full-scale irradiation of the target under the electron beam
from LUE50 accelerator with electrons' energy of 40 MeV and a beam current of 10 micro amps.
A full test of the equipment, the irradiation method and the Technetium99m extraction from
the irradiated target has been performed.
In video presented the following episodes were filmed:
insertion of the irradiating material into the target module under electron beam of LUE50 accelerator (Albert Avetisyan, Robert Mirzoyan,
Vladislav Eganov, Alexander Matosyan, Vartan Marukyan, Jora Badeyan);
the process of accelerator beam tuning (Ashot Hakobyanm, Sergey Avagyan, Albert Babayan);
the process of the irradiated target spectrum measurement (Gohar Avdalyan, Rosa Avetisyan, Rubik Sargsyan, Ruben Dallakyan);
the process of evacuation of the irradiated target and its transportation inside the lead container into "hot room", where the processing of irradiated material takes place
(Albert Avetiyan, Robert Mirzoyan, Alexander Matosyan, Vahan Elbakyan);
the adjustment of the extractor setup and the Tehnetium99m extraction from the irradiated molybdenum target (Alexander Filyanin, Pavell Erilov, Alexander Zverev, Vladislav Eganov, Ivetta Qerobyan, Svetlana Margaryan).
The project was successfully completed and the equipment made for Technetium99m extraction
from the irradiated molybdenum target will be used soon in the production of Tehnetsium99m under proton beam from a C18 cyclotron.
