A study on the [18F]FDG production efficiency of the MINItrace™ cyclotron in Shin Kong Memorial Hospital

The Cyclotron Center of Shin Kong Memorial Hospital is the most active [18F]FDG producer in Taiwan. Any improvement of the production efficiency of the MINItrace™ cyclotron is valuable. A theoretical activity of [18F]FDG has been calculated from the proton stopping power and the interaction cross-section of the 18O(p,n)18F reaction to estimate the efficiency of the production process. A high-sensitivity moderated 3He neutron detector was installed to investigate the real-time condition of the target irradiation by monitoring the associated neutron production. Based on the results of this study, a graphical user interface program has been developed for operators to arrange the operation conditions and to analyze the performance of the production process.