In order to examine the patients at Medicopus Kft., we need to prepare a special solution that helps us to get a picture of the malignant tumors that may be present in the body.
The injection solution has two main components. One is the radioisotope fluorine 18 (18F-), the other is the molecule itself, which is responsible for “transporting” (delivering) the isotope to the right place in the human body. The type of cancer determines which molecule we have to use. The type of molecule determines where it will accumulate in the human body. The isotope attached to the molecule makes the tissue and organ visible to the PET camera.
At Medicopus Nonprofit Ltd currently we are able to label 3 types of molecules with 18F-radioisotope.
In the first step, the radioisotope is produced by a cyclotron. The cyclotron is a particle accelerator that collides high-energy (high-velocity) single-positively charged hydrogen atoms (protons) into oxygen-enriched water with a mass number of 18 (18O). High-energy protons collide a neutron from the oxygen atom and as a result of the collision, the proton “builds in” the place of the neutron. This creates a completely new atom, a radioisotope, fluorine number 18.
In the second step, the prepared radioisotope must be coupled to a molecule (glucose or choline or L-DOPA) that meets the daily test needs. This coupling and the processes involved are called synthesis, and depending on the molecule to which the isotope is to be attached, different methods of synthesis are used. These may vary in time, temperature, reagents used, but also in the devices used. This stage of the manufacturing process takes place under sterile conditions in a so-called clean room.
By the end of the synthesis the solution for injection the radiopharmaceutical is completed and dispensed into sterile vials. From this vial, our patients will later receive a personalized volume of the radiopharmaceutical to perform the appropriate diagnostic test.