| BBC 4 feature on problems with the supply of medical radio-isotopes |
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| Friday, 20 March 2009 14:10 |
 BBC Radio 4 The Material World feature on problems with the supply of medical radio-isotopes.Society seems to have fallen out of love with nuclear technology four decades ago, but one accidental victim of this is medical diagnosis, which is dependent on radio-isotopes created in nuclear reactors that can trace diseased tissue and defective metabolism. Foremost among these radio-isotopes is technetium-99m, used in 80 per cent of nuclear medical procedures. Quentin Cooper hears how the prolonged closure of several ageing reactors late last year for repairs and maintenance led to drastic shortages of the material, and of proposals to secure supplies in the future. Guests, Medical Physicist Alan Perkins, and Dewi Lewis of GE Healthcare. Listen again: BBC.co.uk |
