The company plans to ship its fourth unit to the Diagnostic and Treatment Center of the International Institute of Biological Systems in St. Petersburg, Russia in November.

But if linacs are cheaper on a capital cost basis than cyclotrons, why don't more facilities have them? Goldner says that the ingrained culture of cyclotrons makes it difficult for linacs to break into the market.

"The first cyclotrons have been around for a long time. They've a very mature technology," says Goldner. "They're proven and reliable. That also means that people get trained on them, people do research on them, people use them, so when they go to new institutions it's a technology they're familiar with."

Another reason is the scope of the competition. Goldner says that although AccSys Technology, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hitachi Limited, it's still contending with the big players in the industry.

"They have substantial marketing budgets and they're able to maintain the profile of cyclotrons in the marketplace," he says.

In North America, isotopes are mostly allocated based on a distribution model: stand-alone isotope production facilities make the product and then deliver the doses to the facilities that need them. Presently, the PULSAR system does not produce as many isotopes as bigger machines do at one time, says Goldner. However, the unit is more successful overseas.




"In Europe and Asia, particularly Japan and Western Europe, it's much more of a local market," says Goldner. "There's more of a chance that an accelerator might be found inside a hospital or much closer to the clinic."

AccSys Technology, Inc. is working on breaking these barriers. The PULSAR system series already includes the PL-11, a 10.5 MeV proton linear accelerator, but the company has also designed the PULSAR 11. The unit will be able to produce more isotopes and "compete on a size or scale basis with the cyclotron," says Goldner.

While working on securing funding for the development of PULSAR 11, the company is also improving the design and efficiency of its mobile PULSAR system.
It's well known that cyclotrons are a lot of work, but a brand new product from a Tennessee-based molecular imaging company throws a wrench in the spokes of the substantial investment. ABT Molecular Imaging, Inc. is the developer and manufacturer of the Biomarker Generator, a system approximately two and a half times smaller than a conventional PET cyclotron that produces on-demand radiopharmaceutical doses.

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