2025/03/07 by Morris, Austin A., Wei, Tianhao, Wang, Zhi +3
#Accelerator Physics (physics.acc-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Medical Physics (physics.med-ph)
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2503.05608
We use experimental and simulated excitation functions to estimate the yield of deuteron activations on a [176Yb]Yb2O3 target enriched to 99%. Subsequent calculations are used to determine the production of radiotherapeutic 177Lu according to a 10 mA, 18 MeV D+ compact linear accelerator. The design comprises a single radio-frequency quadrupole accelerator (RFQ) and seven drift tube linacs (DTLs) that achieve a beam efficiency of 99.5% over a length of 12 m. Our results show that a 5-day irradiation can yield more than 1 mg of 177Lu, exceeding 4.4 TBq. After a 2 day processing period, it is estimated that the sample will have a radiopurity greater than 99.8% (carrier-free). Given recent EMA and FDA approvals of 177Lu-DOTATATE and 177Lu-PSMA-617, our results confirm the viability of accelerator-based 177Lu production and provide a promising clinical alternative to reactor-based methods.