Speaker
Description
The CERN-MEDICIS laboratory is located in an extension of the CERN-ISOLDE radioactive ion beam facility in Geneva, Switzerland. ISOLDE is able to provide more than 1000 different isotopes by irradiating a thick target with a 1.4 GeV proton beam from the CERN Proton Synchrotron Booster. Since more than 90 % of the proton beam passes through the ISOLDE targets, the MEDICIS targets will be placed immediately behind the HRS one on a dedicated station to produce radioactive isotopes and benefit from the otherwise lost proton beam. The isotope batches will be extracted in the new laboratory thanks to a dedicated electromagnetic isotope mass separator.
With the development of the facility, many innovative radioisotopes will become available. Applications in fundamental studies in cancer research and new imaging and treatment protocols in cell and animal models will follow, possibly extended to pilot trials. On a weekly basis, 500 MBq isotope batches, purified by mass separation combined with chemical methods can be collected.
In this talk we will offer an overview on the current status of the facility and the progress towards the commissioning of the first stable beams at MEDICIS. We will discuss the main requirements for the production of radioactive beams in terms of efficiency, chemical selectivity and reliability/feasibility when dealing with high beam currents.
By joining forces with leading institutes in life and medical sciences within a newly formed translational collaboration, CERN-MEDICIS offers an exciting prospect with its scientific program in the coming years.
