A variety of radio-isotopes(RI) are produced by ion beams from the AVF cyclotron for fundamental heavy-element chemistry and nuclear medicine. The exclusive beam line for RI production (K course) was installed in 2005. We have started fundamental research on targeted alpha-particle radiotherapy.

The second beam line dedicated to nuclear medicine (F course) have been constracted in 2014.

Ion beams for production of radio-isotopes(RI) is delivered from the AVF cyclotron to the K-course in the S-Experiment Room. A 10 to 80 MeV proton beam and 10 to 35 MeV/n D⁺ and ⁴He²⁺ beams are available. The maximum beam current is 5 particle-μ-A. An RI production target can be transferred to experimental rooms in the basement of the RI Building by a pneumatic tube to avoid radiation exposure during the target delivery. Radio-active elements are chemically separated in a draft chamber of the experimental room. A gamma-ray measurement system using a Ge detector is available in other experimental rooms. A beamline of the F-course in the M-Experiment Room was revived to provide ion beams for RI production. A new target chamber exclusive to production of various kinds of radio isotopes for nuclear medicine was installed at the end of the beam line.

In order to establish a self-sufficient supply of ^99mTc, we studied feasibilities to produce its parent nucleus, 99Mo, using Japanese accelerators. The daughter nucleus, ^99mTc, is indispensable for medical diagnosis. ⁹⁹Mo has so far been imported from abroad, which is separated from fission products generated in nuclear reactors using enriched ²³⁵U fuel. We investigated ^99mTc production possibilities based on the following three scenarios: (1) ⁹⁹Mo production by the (n, 2n) reaction by spallation neutrons at the J-PARC injector, LINAC; (2) ⁹⁹Mo production by the (p, pn) reaction at Ep=50–80 MeV at the RCNP cyclotron; (3) ^99mTc direct production with a 20 MeV proton beam from a PET cyclotron. Among these three, sccenario (1) is for a scheme on a global scale, scenario (2) works in a local area, and both cases take a long time for negotiations. Scenario (3) is attractive because we can use nearly 50 PET cyclotrons in Japan for ^99mTc production. We here consider both the advantages and disadvantages among the three scenarios by taking account of the Japanese accelerator situation