Medical isotope production facility opens in Alberta

Edmonton, AB – The University of Alberta’s new Medical Isotope and Cyclotron Facility has celebrated its grand opening.

The facility is receiving funding of $7 million through the federal government’s Isotope Technology Acceleration Program (ITAP). The funding is being used by a team of researchers across Canada to develop and demonstrate commercial cyclotron production of Tc-99m for medical imaging.

The ITAP is a four-year, $25-million program to improve the security of supply of medical isotopes, reduce radioactive waste and meet nuclear non-proliferation goals through isotope production using cyclotron and linear accelerator technologies. In addition to the project at the University of Alberta, ITAP is also funding projects led by TRIUMF in British Columbia and the Prairie Isotope Production Enterprise in Manitoba.

This initiative builds on the federal government’s previous funding of $3 million, through Western Economic Diversification Canada, towards the purchase and installation of state-of-the-art cyclotron equipment at the University of Alberta.