TY  - JOUR
AU  - Penas, J.
AU  - Alejo, A.
AU  - Bembibre, A.
AU  - Apiñaniz, J. I.
AU  - Garcia-Garcia, E.
AU  - Guerrero, C.
AU  - Henares, J. L.
AU  - Hernandez-Palmero, I.
AU  - Mendez, C.
AU  - Millan-Callado, M. A.
AU  - Puyuelo-Valdes, P.
AU  - Seimetz, M.
AU  - Benlliure, J.
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024//
TI  - Production of carbon-11 for PET preclinical imaging using a high-repetition rate laser-driven proton source
T2  - Sci Rep
JO  - Scientific Reports
SP  - 11448
EP  - 12pp
VL  - 14
IS  - 1
PB  - Nature Portfolio
AB  - Most advanced medical imaging techniques, such as positron-emission tomography (PET), require tracers that are produced in conventional particle accelerators. This paper focuses on the evaluation of a potential alternative technology based on laser-driven ion acceleration for the production of radioisotopes for PET imaging. We report for the first time the use of a high-repetition rate, ultra-intense laser system for the production of carbon-11 in multi-shot operation. Proton bunches with energies up to 10-14 MeV were systematically accelerated in long series at pulse rates between 0.1 and 1 Hz using a PW-class laser. These protons were used to activate a boron target via the 11 \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$<^>{11}$$\end{document} B(p,n) 11 \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$<^>{11}$$\end{document} C nuclear reaction. A peak activity of 234 kBq was obtained in multi-shot operation with laser pulses with an energy of 25 J. Significant carbon-11 production was also achieved for lower pulse energies. The experimental carbon-11 activities measured in this work are comparable to the levels required for preclinical PET, which would be feasible by operating at the repetition rate of current state-of-the-art technology (10 Hz). The scalability of next-generation laser-driven accelerators in terms of this parameter for sustained operation over time could increase these overall levels into the clinical PET range.
SN  - 2045-2322
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-61540-2
DO  - 10.1038/s41598-024-61540-2
LA  - English
N1  - WOS:001228252900017
ID  - Penas_etal2024
ER  -