We will install a solid target at the 18 MeV medical cyclotron (IBA) of the ETH Hönggerberg including a pneumatic shuttle system and a separate lead-shielded hood. The solid target will enable the production of the longer-lived, radiometal nuclides useful for targeted peptide and protein labeling. We will produce innovative radiopharmaceuticals according to GMP. All clinical researcher within and outside SPHN/PHRT can approach the platform and request innovative radionuclides and radiotracers.
Functional imaging of biological and pathological processes at a molecular level using positron emission tomography (PET) offers an unparalleled opportunity for personalized medicine in the future. This opportunity strongly depends on the degree to which innovative PET radiotracers will translate into clinical practice. A plethora of novel radiotracers is available for pre-clinical research. The same cannot be said at the clinical level. Lack of radiotracers are identified for patients suffering from neurological and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. addiction, Parkinson’s, AD etc.), neuro-inflammatory disease (ALS, MS), patients at risk of strokes (arterial plaque etc.), metabolic disease (obesity, diabetes) and for metastasized or pre-metastatic cancerous conditions (metabolism, hypoxia, inflammation, immunity) for which no clinical radiodiagnostic exists in Switzerland.
